Untangling the Webs by Neoxphile & Faerax
by neoxphile
Summary: After "Lockdown" Audrey is led to an intricate series of realizations about what connects her to Duke, to Nathan, and to Haven itself.
1. Dead Tossed Waves

Title: Untangling the Webs

Authors: Neoxphile & Faerax

Disclaimer: Haven characters are property of the Syfy channel.

Spoilers/Setting: season two canon through "Lockdown" with AU versions of the last three season two episodes

Summary: After "Lockdown" Audrey is led to an intricate series of realizations about what connects her to Duke, to Nathan, and to Haven itself.

Authors' note: We've added several weeks, and a new case, between "Lockdown" and "Who What Where Wendigo."

New readers: Please leave feedback! We're still reading it, and it'll help put us in the mood to tackle a sequel... you want to know the answer to the question posed in the final scene, don't you? =)

* * *

><p>August 2011<p>

Tami Lawrence always loved the sea. Every day before the school bus came, she would dart across the street and jump over the seawall that kept the sea contained in the harsher weather. Mornings like this one, before she was trapped in a classroom for months on end, were even better and she was probably the only teenager in Haven who wasn't told not to sleep late all summer. Beyond the safety of the wall large boulders slowly gave way to a rocky beach. Dark gray sand littered the rocks, a testimonial to the strength of the sea breaking down all things. There was always one thing the sea gave up though.

The first rays of brilliant morning light were reflected by the relatively calm seas like a stone skipped along the surface of a pond. The sun emerged later and later each morning as the summer fled to the other hemisphere of the world. Still, while Key West was famed for its sunsets, Tami didn't think they could hold a candle to Maine's sunrises.

This morning she deftly scrambled over the rocks and down to the low tide pools where you could see the brittle-stars and crabs if you looked. The tide pools did not occupy Tami's attention that morning. As she had gone down to watch the sunrise, she had noticed something on the edges of the rocks. Something that didn't belong. She didn't know what it was.

Tami edged further down the beach, closer to the receding tide. The rocks grew slippery with algae and seaweed. Her favorite was the brown seaweed with the small bladders that kept if floating when the tide was high. They made a satisfyingly squelchy pop when you squeezed them. There was something that was tied up in the sea wrack. She wandered over it, mindful of the water and debris. The water had deposited the what-ever-it-was on the rocks, and the receding tide still nudged it if the waves rose high enough.

The rocking motion was what had caught the teenager's eye. It wasn't often that you found debris that big on the shore. Her scream as she saw it for what it was, a corpse in rotting clothing, echoed over the water and drew her parents from their house. She backed away in horror. To spare herself she looked out over the water and saw more of the corpses, bloated with rot, in various states of dress and undress. She screamed again, and turned and ran. She forgot the slippery algae and the sea wrack.

The sea broke down Tami Lawrence.

* * *

><p>Audrey groaned as she answered the incessant ringing of her phone. She really resented that phone some days, especially when it woke her up out of a sound sleep. She'd spent most of the night tossing and turning and thinking about the relationship she had just ended with Haven's resident marine biologist. It wasn't that she missed Chris so much as she doubted that anyone in Haven actually wanted her for herself. Everyone only ever seemed interested in her for her ability to solve their problems. Of course, it would be hard to be wanted for oneself when you didn't even know who you were.<p>

She flipped open her phone while trying desperately to smother a yawn.

"Parker you need to get to the beach off Mill Road. There's trouble." Nathan hadn't even waited for her to greet him before letting her know that there was a problem. Audrey stared at her clock. It was just past six in the morning. Another glorious day in Haven.

Her voice still rough with sleep, she asked, "Trouble trouble or just regular trouble?"

"Don't know yet." Nathan must have cornered the market on succinct. Audrey figured he must have been trying because he at least added the word "yet." She'd lived in Haven for a few months now and still hadn't figured out why Maine residents rationed words like water in a desert. Idly she wondered if Duke's veritable verbal diarrhea was what had caused him to be labeled the town bad boy.

"Give me a couple of minutes to put myself together, Nathan, and I'll be down. Which one is Mill Road again?"

Audrey had already pulled herself out of the bed, and was walking across the floor boards. She'd had all the windows open last night, as well as the balcony doors, and was miserably hot and humid. Need to talk to Duke about getting the A/C up here and not just in the restaurant, she thought.

Nathan sighed, telegraphing his bewilderment that Audrey couldn't figure out a road naming system that he seemed to feel was obvious. "Mill Road is Route 7 east. Head to west into East Haven and turn south on Farm road. Left at the fork in the road."

Audrey rolled her eyes. Why East Haven was actually on the west side of town was yet another mystery about the town. Why the town had only put signs up on about half the roads was another. Her personal favorite was that if you knew the highway number, the road was named. If you knew the road name, there was only a highway number. How these people lived before GPS was truly a mystery. At least Nathan never gave her directions that included phrases like "Turn left where the Miller's barn used to be. That barn fell down in 1987 in a freak hailstorm. Killed 3 cows." That was the last time she asked David Teague for directions.

Pulling on her pants and pinching the phone between her ear and shoulder, she replied "Ok, I'll be there in a few minutes." With her pants loose around her waist, she took the phone from her ear and disconnected. She tossed the phone on her bed and proceeded to finish getting dressed.

Audrey was putting her gun in her holster as she clattered down the stairs. When she reached the bottom, she noticed that the chalkboard was a flat black. Duke seemed to amuse himself drawing on it almost every day, advertising whatever alliterative special he had going on. She'd asked him if Taco Tuesday was a once-off or a recurring theme. After she had finally explained her day off to him and all the horror it had entailed, he vowed that it would be Taco Thursdays from here on out. Apparently tacos were a popular staple at the Gull.

The board being blank bothered her. If Duke had been there, there would have been something on the board. Ever since she moved in, she'd noticed that Duke frequently arrived at the Gull early in the morning and had put in more than a few 12 hour days covering for one of his employees was out. His stipulation seemed to be that if one of the waitstaff was out, the bartender on duty was demoted and he would cover the bar. It was a little odd that he hadn't shown in the two days since Evi's death considering that he frequently checked in even on days when he hadn't scheduled himself to work.

She vowed to visit him that day, if she could. Duke hadn't been entirely himself immediately after Evi died, and he had nearly exploded again when Nathan and Audrey had explained why they felt the need to hide the cause of her death. She could tell that he didn't trust her and Nathan to actually look into why Evi had been murdered, and she was a little worried he'd go after the Rev himself.

The car crunched down the gravel in the driveway as Audrey backed out of her parking spot and left the Gull's driveway. She only got lost once trying to find Route 7 east, also known as Mill Road. Nathan's directions failed to mention that the left at the fork was then followed by a right at the T-intersection two miles down the road. The ruins of a barn were right at the intersection.

* * *

><p>Nathan surveyed the scene before him. There were about fifty to sixty bodies on the beach. The coroner's people had no idea where to store so many bodies. The local hospitals would all have full morgues. Most were men, but there were a few scattered women. The clothing had mostly rotted off, so it had taken a while to determine it wasn't quite right for this day and age. Nearest guesses came from the women's dresses, which looked like late Victorian according to Vince Teague. At least that meant the bodies weren't the Glendowers, which had been his first horrified thought.<p>

Audrey rolled up and parked on the road. She was far enough away from the curb to have earned herself a ticket, if she wasn't a cop. Nathan was annoyed that she was 20 minutes later that "a few minutes." When she got out of the car, she rolled her head around her shoulders, then ducked back into the car. An extra large coffee was in her hand.

Nathan looked out to the sea, wondering how many more bodies would be delivered to Haven by the sea. He had already called the harbormaster, and Beattie had told him that no boats were missing, and that the coast guard hadn't reported any ships lost at sea. There were too many bodies for someone not to have noticed that these people were missing, and yet, somehow they had.

None of the bodies had had any identification on them. The Lawrences hadn't seen anything odd the previous night. They had heard their daughter scream in the morning and ran out to find her seemingly dead on the rocks, where presumably she had slipped in a skull damaging fall. The paramedics took her away while trying to revive her. Nathan hoped they were successful, but it hadn't looked promising.

The girl's father had stayed to make a statement that they hadn't seen or heard anything before going to the hospital to find out his daughter's fate. This was confirmed by the folks living on this stretch of road for a mile in either direction. All had pointed out that the sea'd been calm and there had been nothing but the usual boats out on the horizon. Most of these folks had lived on the street for years and could identify every ship in the fleet.

Nathan started up the shore to the break in the sea wall that held the stairs to get down to the rocky surf. Audrey had started down the stairs, and was looking doubtfully at the wet rocks at the base. He steadied her hand as she took to the rocks. She made it a couple of boulders to the shore before she slipped. Nathan caught her before she could fall, but sadly, her coffee was not salvageable. It had splashed all over the rocks. Fortunately it wasn't near the area cordoned off as the crime scene.

Audrey gasped as she saw the field of dead bodies in front of them. Her eyes went wide and she paused her advance. "What happened here?" she whispered.

Nathan spoke quietly to her. "Don't know. Tami Lawrence found them. Her parents called 911. When they found her, they saw the bodies. Corner's not sure where to put 'em all."

The wind was fortunately blowing out to sea rather than off of it. The smell from the bloated bodies was kept down because of that small mercy. Audrey ducked under the crime scene tape. Stan turned as he heard the flap of the yellow banner. Nathan joined the two on the other side of the flimsy barrier.

"Looks like they drowned," Stan mentioned. Nathan nodded.

"That's what I was thinking, but the corner is the only one that can tell us for sure." Nathan kept looking out to sea, as if expecting more bodies to wash up.

"How many people drown in Haven?" Audrey asked, hesitantly.

Nathan turned to her. "We get a couple a year." He shrugged. "You learn to recognize the look."

Audrey wandered over to one of the bodies and knelt down beside it. It looked to be a man that once had mutton chops, judging by the hair that was still on his face. Something had eaten a couple of his appendages. "What ship sank?" she asked as she examined the body.

"Don't know. Beattie says no one's missing and the Coast Guard hasn't reported any ships lost at sea." Nathan looked at Audrey significantly. "We've got our work cut out for us on this one."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile<p>

Duke had gone to Haven's lone hospital. This was the second time he'd visited Evi here. The first time she'd run out on him after conning him (again). He'd rather have been conned once more than to face what he was facing now. He was directed down into the basement, to a small office. The attendant looked up at him.

"Duke Crocker for Evi Crocker." Duke's voice was quieter than normal, his whole manner considerably subdued. The attendant nodded and pulled out some paperwork stacked thickly on a clipboard.

Duke took the clipboard and sat down in a small chair that looked like it had tried to be assigned to the lounge, and didn't quite make the cut. He patiently filled out the forms to indicate the funeral home, and then the funeral home's paperwork. Most folks in Haven were laid to rest by O'Michael's and Sons funeral home and the hospital must have decided to just include the basic paperwork with their own. O'Michael's was the only funeral home in Haven.

He finished the paperwork and asked to see Evi again. Some part of him insisted that this was a sick joke, and that Evi was conning him again. The attendant smiled sadly and told Duke that he could see Evi at the funeral home. Because she had been suspected of dying of a communicable disease, she had already been transported to the home for embalming. That at least explained the extra paperwork.

Duke nodded as he passed over the clipboard. He had an appointment with the funeral home shortly anyway to make sure that the final arrangements were made to transport Evi back to her home. He ascended the stairs and found his way to the Land Rover. He started up the car and drove to the home.

* * *

><p>Mr. O'Michael welcomed Duke into the home and brought him up to an office that had been tastefully decorated in shades of tan and brown. The entire room had been decorated to evoke a feeling of serenity. Duke appreciated it.<p>

"Mr. Crocker, thank you for working with the hospital this morning to straighten out the paperwork. I do apologize, but unfortunately because of the issues surrounding her death, and the difficulty in securing your marriage certificate, we been encountering some issues with your request to remove the body from the state. Fortunately, your wife's uncle was able to secure a copy of the marriage certificate from San Francisco." Mr. O'Michael handed the copy of the marriage license to Duke. He had long since lost his copy, and had not been in the mood to look for it in years. When he had needed to find it, he couldn't.

Mr. O'Michael continued. "You will need to keep a copy of this, Mrs. Crocker's death certificate, and the following permits on you at all times as you travel across state lines. You will need them if you are questioned about transporting her body. Mrs. Crocker's uncle has contacted the Farmer's funeral home, who will make the final arrangements for Mrs. Crocker in San Francisco."

After that there was more paperwork that Duke had to fill out and the director handed Duke a train ticket, for her. Unlike him, she wouldn't be traveling in a sleeper compartment.

Duke thanked the director and left the home, but not before spending a couple of minutes alone with his wife. Mr. O'Michael had done a good job with Evi's body, and she did look like she had been sleeping. Whatever had cause the inky blackness in her veins had been purged with her remaining blood. Still, the warmth that Duke had always associated with her was gone.

He reluctantly left her. She had brought back so many emotions, good and bad, in the few days she'd been in Haven. They'd been good con artists together, and for a while passionate lovers. Some part of him had wished that he had trusted her enough to believe that she wanted a second chance at their marriage. But he could usually tell when she was lying. Still, he had wanted that bit of a dream so badly he had been willing to overlook her lies and her deceit. It would have blown up again, one way or another though. And he couldn't stand the thought that Evi had brought down Nathan. Duke would have sacrificed himself to Evi, for a while anyway, to pretend he was something "special." But he could not accept her deceiving his friends.

Privately he blamed Audrey. Not for Evi's death, but for causing him to suddenly want more out of life. He was a loner, but he liked being around people. Sometimes. His near death by Helena (he still couldn't stand to think of Beattie as Helena) had changed his outlook. He realized that perhaps his friends were more precious to him than he realized. Then Audrey had shown him his daughter's picture. In a moment, that short span of time between seeing his baby girl and Audrey informing him he could never see her in person, he lived a whole life. He imagined being held hostage to a tea-party. Giving her away at her wedding. Holding a grandchild. There was another life he could have, did have for an instant. It was a surprisingly nice life.

When Evi had shown up, it brought back memories of that too brief lifetime. Evi hadn't wanted children, though. Hadn't wanted much of anything except money and not to work for it. Their cons had been among the best, but he had changed, and she hadn't. Baby Jean had shown him another life, one where he'd wanted to be a better man. Evi still wanted to be footloose and fancy-free. She'd only stay with him as long as it was advantageous for her to do so. Duke wasn't sure he could live that way again.

The drive back to the Gull was a long one. Thoughts and regrets about Evi chased each other around his head like a dog chased chickens. He would try to think about something else, but it always came back to Evi, their life together, and their life apart. By the time he got to the Gull he was ready for a few stiff drinks. Too bad he had to make phone calls first.

Each member of the Gull's staff had been called and told the Gull would be closed for at least two weeks while he buried his wife and took care of her affairs. The staff was more worried they wouldn't be paid than about his trip across country. A few of them were surprised he would travel with her body. He promised them all their pay while he was gone for the shifts they were scheduled to work.

He went out front to the blackboard. He didn't embellish the simple message: closed until further notice. Then he went to his boat, packed his things, and drove down to Portland where he would catch the Downeaster in the morning with Evi and begin the two day trek across the country. Duke Crocker left Haven without fanfare or saying good-bye.

* * *

><p>That Evening<p>

Audrey wanted nothing more than a hot bath and a bottle of wine. There had been fifty-seven bodies on the rocky shoreline that was politely termed a beach. None of them had any identification. None of them was in modern clothing. It was like the crew and passengers of the Mary Celeste suddenly appeared from nowhere, except that the clothing was from about forty years too late to be that crew. The current speculation was that perhaps some folks doing a historical reenactment of some sort ran into trouble. Beattie was contacting Yarmouth, St. John's and other Canadian cities to find if they'd lost anyone. The general consensus was that Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island hadn't noticed any missing ships.

She could tell that the mystery was really bothering Nathan. He had to account for so many dead bodies. There was nothing to say that there was foul play involved. Still it was grating on Nathan's nerves for one reason: there might be someone with a very dangerous trouble out there causing lots of people to die. Descriptions of the dead had been provided to each of the coastal towns. Still, with the bodies were so badly rotted, it wasn't likely that anyone would be able to identify the dead without a genetic test.

In short, the day had ended much as it had begun, frustratingly. The Gull was still dark, with only a single street light in the corner to provide light as Audrey trudged across the parking lot. As she closed the distance from her car to the stairs, she was heartened to see that there was a message on the chalkboard. She hoped Duke had left her a message.

Audrey twisted her lips into a frown as she read that the Gull was closed until further notice. She sighed, realizing that her bath and her bottle of wine would have to wait a while longer. Duke needed someone, and she seemed to be it. It was likely Nathan and Duke were not speaking to each other after they had swung at each other in the station.

She groaned and trudged back to her car, debating calling Duke on the way to tell him she was coming. Sometimes the best way to catch him was to ambush him. If he wasn't at the marina, she was going to be more frustrated than she already was. She ground her teeth as she considered. She was so tired and it had been such a long and depressing day.

With a sigh, she pulled out her phone and dialed Duke's number. It didn't pick up. She called Nathan, who had told her that Duke had not been in contact with him since trying to dislocate his jaw. There wasn't anyone else she knew Duke might actually talk to. She tried calling him again and didn't get an answer. If he was avoiding her calls because he was still up set about the cover up with Evi's death...

She looked at her watch. It wasn't unreasonable for Duke to be out at this hour. She knew that sometimes his other job kept him out. She decided to compromise. She'd go upstairs, have her bath, and see if Duke would share her wine. Maybe he'd be back by the time she was done.

The bath was luxurious and Audrey had added scented oils and a capful of the Mr. Bubble bubble bath that Duke had given her as an apartment warming gift. From the look he'd given her as he handed the bottle over, she could tell that if Evi hadn't been around, he'd've offered to test it out with her. The heat from the water worked loose the knots in her spine and shoulders. After she slipped on a nightgown and robe, she made herself a cup of tea.

After she finished her cup of tea she picked up her phone and called Duke again. Still no answer. Audrey was beginning to get really worried. As aggrieved as he usually acted when asked to help out, it wasn't like Duke to completely ignore her calls. She stared at her phone, looking for answers. Suddenly the phone buzzed in her hand. She nearly dropped it because it had startled her.

There was a text message from Duke. "I'm in Boston leaving for CA tomorrow. Taking Evi home."

Audrey texted back: "Do you want me to go with you?" the thought of driving all the way down to Boston from Haven caused her soul to shudder with exhaustion. Still, she'd do it for her friend.

The phone buzzed again. "Thanks, but no. I've got to do this alone."

"Call me if you need me," she replied. She doubted he would.

* * *

><p><em>AN: This is going to be a **long** story. Feedback us, and we'll post more soon =)_

_FTR, the timeline's mostly based on Nathan's claim in "Business As Usual" that he'd been collecting information on Lucy Ripley for a year._


	2. The Matriarch's Advice

Jess Minion was scared. She had told Nathan Wournos that she had fled Haven because she couldn't stand the after affects of the attack against her. That wasn't the truth.

She had hoped to escape the curse that afflicted her but it seemed bound to chase her no matter where she went. Jess's grandparents had lived in Haven, but after the death of the Kid and the subsequent hysteria, they had fled to Quebec. Still, growing up in Canada she had been mesmerized by the stories her grandparents told. A small town in Maine where magic was real.

After living there she realized that the tales her grandparents had told her, full of unusual people with strange, new abilities, had been 'sanitized' because they had been told to a small child. Peter Pan's shadow was not one that playfully snuck into Wendy's bedroom, it was a homicidal spirit bent on revenge. Unfortunately, she had to learn that the hard way.

Forgiveness didn't come easily to Jess. It was funny, and sad, that more than 300 years after the infamous events in Salem, the upstanding people of Haven were willing to restart the witch trials. And of all the troubled people in this town, they had wanted to start with her, probably because she was an "outsider" with her strange accent and her desire to live on her own, independent of anyone. But then, the women of the Calef line had always had an independent streak. When her mother married her father, she hadn't wanted to take his name, claiming she was no one's Minion, least of all her husband's. The compromise was that their children would carry his name on. However Jess's middle name was Calef to remind her who she was and where she came from.

When her grandparents left Haven, they hadn't sold their house. They had always intended to come back to Haven, but somehow had never managed to do it. When her grandmother died, her grandfather hadn't wanted to return at all. Her parents likewise hadn't wanted to reclaim the property. Jess though, had been curious about this town and its secrets. Her grandfather had sold her the house and warned her to be careful.

The first few months she lived in Haven it was not terribly different than living Quebec. Then she noticed the traces of the troubles. Mysterious deaths, sudden immigrations and emigrations of inhabitants that had nothing to do with the tourist seasons, it added up to something, but Jess hadn't been sure what. After the animals attacked and then, once the shadowman did, she understood more about Haven's brand of magic. The thing that frightened her the most, though, was that the curse of Haven might have touched her.

The more she thought about it, the more she was certain that Haven had impacted her. She had noticed people in the town getting more and more contentious when she was around. It had started with minor things at first. She went to the grocery store and people would argue over who would get the last melon. When she volunteered at the hospital, her grief counseling group had a certain unusual friction to them. The ultimate proof, to her, that she was causing the problems where when she had noticed Nathan and Audrey fighting about how to ensure the shadowman would hunt no more victims in town. Even when she thought back on it, Audrey had seemed more upset than she should have been that Nathan was clueless about Jess's real reason for having him perform a home safety check. All of it started after she had been nearly lynched by the hunt club.

Jess realized she was troubled after that fight. She had thought perhaps she could flee Haven, and leave the trouble behind. It killed her to have hurt Nathan like that, to leave with scarcely a word of parting, but she was frightened by everything that had happened, and was continuing to happen around her and to her. She wanted to run as far as she could from the troubles, even if it meant running from Nathan.

Sadly, running away hadn't worked. She had moved back in with her parents while she searched for an apartment in the small town in Quebec where they lived. Within two days of her coming into the town, her parents had been considering divorce. When she moved out, it seemed that their relationship did improve. She took a new job and within weeks, there was trouble in the department with old hands quitting left and right because they couldn't stand the management. One of the girls that was leaving had pulled Jess aside and advised her to get out while she still could, because it wasn't going to get easier or better. Then to add salt to the wound, she had lamented how the whole department used to get along, and wondered what had happened to make it all fall apart.

Jess realized that she couldn't outrun her troubles; there was nowhere else for her to go, except to face them back where they started. She set down her suitcase and unlocked the door to the brightly colored yellow house she once called home. She wondered if Nathan would ever speak to her again now that she was back in Haven.

* * *

><p>Nathan noticed that Audrey was distracted. At the station she was staring out the office window rather than studying the initial report from the coroner, which had amounted to "We don't know. We suspect they drowned. Ask us later." It wasn't the most useful report ever to pass over their desks, and it made him miss Eleanor's rather lengthier version of the same kind of reports. At least Eleanor always told him what it definitely was not while saying she was still working on what it was.<p>

The fuller version of the report would be available in a couple of weeks. There were a lot of bodies to go through and autopsy. So far no one had any leads on identifying the bodies. No one had reported that many people missing. No ships were lost, not ghost ships found, and nothing seemed to be amiss except for the number of bodies that had washed up on shore. There were mutters that perhaps the sea had coughed up some last unfortunate souls from the Titanic's sinking, but the coroner's had scoffed at that.

"You could call him, you know. See how he's doing." Nathan looked over at Audrey for her reaction.

She glanced back at him, then smiled ruefully. "I'm sure he's ok. I just worry. I mean, I've never seen him like that before."

Nathan grunted a laugh. "Duke doesn't always think. When his heart's involved he never thinks. Sometimes Duke needs someone to knock him out and do the thinking for him."

"I know. It's just that he's so easy going. I don't think I've ever seen him upset, and to see him so out of control like he was that night..." Audrey trailed off.

Nathan walked over and gently placed a hand on Audrey's shoulder, and she looked up at him. "Getting out of Haven is probably the best thing for him right now. If he's gone, he's got time to cool off. He's not going after the Rev, and we don't have to think of ways to arrest him while avoiding harassment charges while we try to protect him from himself."

"I'm not sure riding on a train with his dead wife's body will cause him to cool off, Nathan."

"Maybe not, but it will give us time to figure out how to deal with him when he comes back. He wasn't happy when I told him we needed to cover up Evi's murder. I pointed out that the Rev currently holds most of the cards. He didn't like it, and thought we could get to the Rev by investigating the murder, but I reminded him that the Rev's people would be happy to be martyrs to the cause and to take the fall completely on themselves."

Audrey asked, "How did he respond to that?"

"He glared at me. Then he walked away." Nathan shrugged. "Look, when he gets back to town he's likely to try something dumb thinking that we 'forgot' about what happened. We need to watch out for him and make sure he doesn't get himself killed doing it."

"You really think he'd do that?" Audrey was openly skeptical about Nathan's analysis of Duke's likely future actions.

"Yes. For a reasonably smart man, he can be incredibly dumb."

* * *

><p>San Francisco, California<br>Two Days Later

A clock the size of the dining room table in Duke's childhood home ticked, making the only sound in the almost completely deserted train depot. Across the cavernous space a clerk behind a plexiglass window patiently waited to sell tickets for later trains, but he was the only one there other than Duke. All the other passengers had gotten off the train and left while Duke was outside talking to the driver from the funeral home. Hoping for company he'd invited her in, but she declined, so Duke alone waited in the depot.

He found himself thinking about the cracks in the grimy floor, and staring at his frayed shoelaces, laces he ought to have replaced after running through an abandoned building had roughed them up...His mind grasped at these meager amusements, anything to shy away from the thoughts of why he was there, sitting in a hard chair anchored to a row of others, waiting.

Eventually other sounds intruded, making him lose count of the floor tiles. A metallic protest, the hollow sound of wheels being forced over slightly uneven flooring. When he looked up, two men were wheeling the casket towards him.

"Someone from funeral home's here?" one asked impatiently.

"Yeah, the hea-" He couldn't bring himself to say it. "The driver's just outside."

After a nod they focused on the task at hand, and Duke could have ceased to exist for all the attention they paid to him. He slowly got to his feet and trailed after them. Though he didn't really want to, he stood in the doorway and watched as they helped load his late wife's casket into the back of the waiting hearse. The men didn't come back the same way with the wheeled bier that they'd brought the casket out on, and the driver didn't need to speak to him again before she drove away.

Standing there, alone again, he wished he'd swallowed his pride and asked someone to come with him. It had seemed like too much to ask, and when he'd promised Evi's uncle to bring her home so she could be buried in a family plot, he'd thought he'd wanted to do it alone.

Now he knew he was wrong.

* * *

><p>Haven, Maine<p>

Nathan did a double take as he looked at Audrey. She looked exhausted. It looked like the stresses of Haven and their latest case were catching up to her. They still didn't have an explanation for all the bodies that showed up on the shore. Last night there had been gang violence in the streets and the entire police force had been out chasing what sounded like Boston thugs having a war in the quiet streets of Haven. Amazingly, no new bodies had shown up. It appeared that the visiting gang members were poor shots.

He studied her as he picked her up at the Gull. She'd had to get her car serviced and the mechanic had found that a couple of her belts were worn and needed to be replaced. It was going to leave her without a car for at least a day, so Nathan was the designated driver for the day. Audrey spared a glance at the blackboard, which hadn't changed since Duke had left days ago.

She opened the door and slid into the seat. There were dark rings under her eyes and her normal light banter had slowly dissolved to a pervading silence under the accumulated stresses she was under. He handed her a coffee. She seemed to be living on it lately. "You ok?"

She nodded, not really looking at him. "Just haven't been sleeping a lot."

Nathan nodded, trying to hide the jealousy and not realizing it wasn't working. "Chris keeping you up all night? Maybe you need to remind him that interfering with a police officer in the execution of her duties is a criminal offense."

The stare that Audrey shot him could have been used as a method of execution. She asked him sharply, "Tell me Nathan, have you seen Chris recently?"

He thought about it and realized Chris hadn't been around lately. At least since the night of the lockdown, and that was days ago. He stared at Audrey again, recognizing the look now. It wasn't just Haven that was upsetting Audrey, it was the lack of Chris.

"Did he have to go back to London for his grant?" Nathan asked carefully, wondering what had happened.

"No. We broke up and I don't really want to talk about it." Audrey turned away from Nathan to stare out the window as the terrain flew by. She sipped her coffee.

"I'm sorry," Nathan offered. He truly was sorry. Audrey seemed to have a genuine affection for the unpleasant marine biologist. Nathan didn't understand the attraction, but he was close to being a pariah for not loving Chris Brody. He had actually been told by someone that it may have been a reason why he was removed from being chief, rather than his keeping duplicate sets of files.

Still, this opened up opportunities he hadn't thought of before. Dave and Vince pointedly reminded Nathan that Audrey was very much a woman. He hadn't wanted to trespass on her ability to make him feel. However he had hoped that perhaps she would come to him in her own time. Nathan realized that the fatal flaw in his plan was that while he was waiting for Audrey to realize he was there, other men wouldn't. Other men hadn't.

Nathan appreciated that Audrey would be vulnerable. He didn't want to make the same mistake twice and wait too long, but he didn't want to press her into something she wasn't ready for yet. Her break up with Chris was still too new, and her feelings obviously too raw to hear what Nathan so desperately wanted to tell her. To tell her that he wanted to love her for the rest of her life.

It amazed Nathan that while Audrey was so strong, at times she could be so fragile. He still woke up remembering the feel of her hands as she lay unconscious, stuffed in a trunk. That was the moment he realized he loved her beyond the bounds of friendship. Beyond the bounds of their well-established partnership. Jess had been fun, but as he communed with Patsy Cline and Johnny Walker, he wondered if he ever truly loved her. After all, he and Jess hadn't had the unique connection that he and Audrey had.

He knew that every time she touched him it was a gift. Audrey was intensely private. She didn't display her emotions for all to see. So when she took his hand in hers, or rested it on his shoulder, he knew exactly how much he meant to her, and how much she trusted him. Now he knew he couldn't wait for her to realize he loved her. He needed to show her.

* * *

><p>San Francisco, California<p>

So far San Francisco was not making a positive impression on Duke. After he had met Evi's surviving uncle and foster father, John, at the funeral home four days previously, things had not been going well. He'd been living out of a hotel, which was never something he was fond of, which is why he lived on Cape Rouge. All the fun of travel combined with all the comforts of home. The streets of the city were noisy all night, something he had forgotten about living in quiet Haven for so long. He'd not slept well on the train, and didn't appear to be getting any sleep while staying in the city. It was an odd feeling to long for Haven.

John had made most of the arrangements by the time Duke was there. Unfortunately, that left the Downeaster with nothing to do and several days to do it in. Twice he almost called Audrey, but then thought better of it. She was under enough stress, and didn't need him to add to it. Each time Duke tried to become involved with the funeral plans, John had cut him out, usually telling him he'd already done quiet enough seeing that his relationship with Evi was why the girl was dead.

Duke felt guilty, and it wasn't a pleasant emotion. He knew Evi would never have been in danger if she'd not gone chasing after the smuggler. John had seemed determine to rub it in his face though. The grave marker that John had arranged for in the Ryan family plot had read "Evi Ryan. Beloved Daughter and Niece." No word of her being Duke's beloved wife, and certainly not bearing his last name. He and John had nearly come to blows over that, when John had told him "Why would I put it on there? It was never true." Duke had drunk himself in to a stupor that night just to avoid thinking about anymore run-ins with John.

Things got even worse when it appeared that for some reason, some permit somewhere was out of order, and Evi's internment had had to be delayed two extra days. At least for that error, both he and John could blame the funeral homes at either end of the country, who had arranged the travel permits. However, he wasn't expecting John's wife's salvo that none of these permits would have been an issue if Duke had just flown Evi out here like a normal person. She had demanded to know why Evi was transported on a train. So Duke had replied with one word. Pteromerhanophobia. At that point John yelled at him for disrespecting his wife and calling her some kind of dinosaur.

Audrey had texted him once, three days after he left Maine to ask how he was, and to make sure he had arrived in California safely with Evi. He had responded that he was Ok, and that he should be back in about a week and a half. Now with all the delays, it was looking to be longer than that. He had needed to tell her he would be later, but unfortunately, his phone had died, and taken all of her contact information with it. No one would be at the Gull to run upstairs to the apartment and tell her he would be late coming back, and the thought of calling the police department to leave a message gave him hives. Duke didn't relish Audrey's wrath when he finally came home. In the future he'd start memorizing phone numbers again.

On the day of the funeral, Eleanor Ryan cornered Duke in the back room of her son's house. The matriarch of the Ryan clan, she ruled the family and her word was law. He didn't relish taking on this woman who ran this family. Duke sighed, wondering what unpleasantness she was about to visit on him. He'd already heard enough from Evi's uncle and aunt. Evi's mother had long since abandoned her child to the Ryan's family's care, as the girl stifled her pursuit of alcohol and drugs. He had been angry when she had tried to collect her daughter's things, even though she'd pointedly ignored his request for a mailing address. Duke had been relieved to turn the whole thing over to John Ryan and have him deal with it. He hoped that Eleanor Ryan wasn't about to come after him about that mess.

"Mr. Crocker, might I have a word with you in private?" Though posed as a question it was more of a command performance. He took in this woman, well into her eighties. She had a cane in one hand, and a crown of silver hair that was cropped short to her head. She wasn't fat, but she wouldn't be described as thin either. She was dressed in a navy blue suit with a white shirt. On her breast was a gold broach in the shape of a dove. Some green stone winked at Duke from the olive sprig it clutched.

He nodded and together they made their way out to the tiny walled in garden that made up the back yard. Duke held the door open for the woman to pass, then closed it, wondering if he had just entered the dragon's den. Eleanor Ryan stood by a white painted chair and settled ponderously into it. Duke took the chair opposite of the one she had sat in.

"Mr. Crocker, did you know why I'm named Eleanor?" The question seemed to Duke to come out of left field. Briefly he wondered if Mrs. Ryan had gotten old enough that senility was starting to set in.

"No ma'am."

"My papa was a mighty big fan of history. There was this woman, a French woman, who was married to a king of England. Only woman ever truly queen of both England and France. Now this woman was mighty powerful back in the old days. There are stories though that sometimes she didn't act in such a queenly fashion. She was imprisoned and escaped by impersonating one of the knights. She was the mother of Richard and John, from the Robin Hood stories. Eleanor of Aquitaine, they called her. Out lived most all her children.

"Now I don't know if my papa intended me to be queen, or outlive my Richard and leave me only John, or if God's having a joke on me on account of my name. But I imagine Eleanor and I, we'd have some interesting conversations on the faults and virtues of our children."

Duke nodded, not quite sure where this was going.

"Now my Richard, he was named for the king, and my John, he was named for the Baptist, but history seems to like repeating itself. My granddaughter wanted to be Robin Hood. Unfortunately, she forgot about the giving to the poor bit. She just wanted to annoy her Uncle John more'n anything." Eleanor paused.

"I know that John accused you of ruining that girl. Maybe so, maybe no. I don't know what went on between you. However I do recall seeing you trying. And I know my granddaughter wasn't much of one to do anything that didn't serve herself. Evi told me that you served her divorce papers once, and that she wouldn't sign them. Told me that she hoped you two'd make another go of it. But I knew when that girl was lying. And I knew that even if you did come back, she'd never take you in, and I didn't see her chasing you down neither. Near as I can tell she just wanted to keep your balls in a vice."

Duke choked back a laugh. There was just something amusing about an octogenarian saying a phrase like that. Eleanor smiled.

"I've seen you moping around here the last few days, looking like you had no friends in all the world, and being blamed for things beyond your control. You didn't make my grandchild a selfish woman, a con artist, or a ne'er-do-well. You may have helped, given her a pointer or two here or there, but unfortunately that apple was rotted long before you got a taste.

"Seein' you here now, you seemed to be doing the honorable thing. You brought her home when you could have just buried her in Maine. You stayed for this even though Lord above knows John has not made this easy on you. The Duke Crocker I met on my Evi's wedding day wouldn't have done that. You are becoming an honorable man. I'm just sorry that you couldn't get Evi to change the way you have done."

Eleanor finished her little speech and Duke was at a loss for words. So far he'd been blamed for Evi's death, practically accused of murdering her, accused of using her, abusing her, and leaving her high and dry. To hear the family matriarch say that it wasn't his fault was kind of liberating.

"Thank you ma'm. I want you to know, I did love her when we met. She was so..." Duke paused, searching for a word while rubbing at his neck. "Vibrant. Passionate. So alive."

Eleanor nodded. "That was certainly her gift. No one had as much joie de vivre. When she smiled it was like a sun came out from behind the clouds. Too bad none of us realized that she was not as innocent as she acted."

Duke sat back against the aged metal chair and gave Eleanor a crooked grin. "That apple didn't fall far from her Grandma's tree. I see the better part of Evi's smile in yours."

"Pssht. Mr. Crocker. A widower flirting with me, at my age? Shame on you, but you can feel free to keep doing it. I could be doing with a strong, young thing like yourself around the house."

Duke openly laughed, and Eleanor reached over and put her gnarled hand over his where it rested on the small table between them. "Now that's better. Child, there's no harm in loving someone and then falling out of love with them. I know you've been feeling guilty that the grief ain't hit you harder. But Evi and you split ways years ago. Don't let John and the other's crucify you for sins you ain't committed.

"Now let an old woman tell you a piece of advice, young man. You don't marry the woman you are passionately in love with. Go out with them, have your fun with them, but don't settle with them. Eventually that passion burns itself out or it explodes like it did between you and Evi. Yes, I did hear you two screeching like cats in the moonlight that night you left her. And I heard you two make up afterwards."

Duke blushed redder than a fire truck covered in tomato paste. Eleanor positively grinned.

"Yeah, those fights lead to the best way of making up. Hell, that's how John was brought into that world. His father and I were arguing over his job and nine months later out comes John. But that's not what I was going to get into. You want to settle down with your best friend. You might lose your passion for one another, but a good solid friendship can survive just about everything.

"Go out and have a good life somewhere, Mr. Crocker. Our chapter in it has ended, but there's no need for you to pay penance to Evi because you have a chance to be happy."

"Thank you, ma'am."

"You're welcome. Now help an old woman inside and do her running and fetching for her. You had best be good for something while you're here and John can't say anything to you if I don't allow it."

* * *

><p>Later That Week<br>Haven, Maine

Beattie came into Audrey's and Nathan's office with an apologetic look on her face. She dropped a report on Audrey's desk. Audrey picked it up and flipped through the few short pages in the folder.

She looked up at Beattie and said, "You have got to be kidding."

Beattie started humming a well known movie theme. All of this caught Nathan's attention and he looked up expectantly.

Beattie broke off her one woman opera and said "A giant great white shark was sighted just outside the harbor. It attacked a party boat."

"Guess we know where the leg came from," Nathan said dryly.

Beattie mouthed the word "Leg?"

Audrey cut in. "Early this morning a human leg was found out by Tuwiowok bluffs. No body to go with it, and no one's reporting a missing appendage or person."

Nathan nodded, then asked, "Anybody ever report any ship missing?"

Beattie shook her head. "No one's reported any of the fleet missing, and the harbormasters up and down the coast all have confirmed none of their boats are missing."

"Thanks, Beattie," Audrey said. Beattie nodded and left the office.

Audrey and Nathan stared at each other for several long moments. Audrey broke it off. "Did you read the coroner's report?" She shuffled papers on her desk looking for said report.

Nathan walked over to her stilling her hands by resting one of his on top of hers. She quickly withdrew it.

"The coroner hasn't submitted a final report. He said there was something wrong with the bodies, but wouldn't go into detail. Just that the report would take longer than normal to work up. I asked Dwight to look into it. He should have something for us tomorrow."

"Oh, that's good." Audrey looked up into Nathan's penetrating gaze. She had been noticing that for the last few days since Duke left, Nathan had been giving her quiet, thoughtful, intense looks. She was afraid to wonder why.

Her questions about Nathan had to wait. The phone vibrated as Laverne sent out a text from the next office over. There was a problem over on Main Street. It appeared that there was some ruckus with small, remote controlled UFOs zooming around and generally causing a disturbance. There had been a fender bender when one had zipped in front of a car.

Audrey got up from her desk. Nathan joined her and they left the station together. Nathan automatically went to the Bronco and unlocked the door for Audrey. She slowly climbed in and settled on the seat, wondering why they took Nathan's old truck everywhere. It was kind of annoying to be carted around like a piece of meat that way.


	3. Suburban Assault

They went three miles down the road, just past where the tourist shops ended. Sure enough, there were four little UFOs flying around, buzzing the local trees, the tourists, and cars, and one poor unfortunate dog. Nathan and Audrey exited the Bronco and jogged down the street, chasing after the small saucers.

The UFOs split up and one took to the air, one took off down the street, and one small one started circling a building. The fourth one buzzed Audrey before heading back up the street towards the station. Nathan stopped and stared at the one that was going around the building.

"Do you see that? For these things to be radio controlled, you need a line of sight. There's no one running around that building, who's controlling it?" Nathan turned to Audrey who was still crouched down from being attacked by the fourth one. She glanced up as she straightened up.

Audrey looked around the street and couldn't find an obvious controller for the UFOs. The one saucer that had remained made one last loop around the building before it took off. The two of them remained still for a few moments but the UFOs did not return. They took the information on the two people that had gotten into the fender bender before returning to the station. Just another day in Haven.

* * *

><p>San Francisco, California<p>

_This is like so much in my life_, Duke thought. _It's just not quite right_. The tall man sighed, and bent down over the grave marker that was his wife's. The dawn had burned off the clouds and the sky was a beautiful, unrepentant blue. In this quiet area of the cemetery, it would have been easy to believe that he'd been walking in a field or a park waiting to meet a friend rather than saying a last goodbye.

In a tree some bird Duke didn't recognize gave voice to a trilling call. It sounded absurdly happy. He realized he was moderately glad something was, because he wasn't. The air was warm, with only a touch of humidity from the sea, just out of sight of the small burial ground. Duke raked his fingers through the soft sod covering Evi's grave, then sat down just beside it.

The thing that bothered him most, he thought, was that he **should** have an aching, searing hole in his heart. When Nathan lost Jess to Quebec, he'd gone on a three-day bender. Duke remembered smelling the alcohol the day before Eleanor Carr died. He'd given Nathan an ultimatum, get sober or be the only one of Audrey's friends not invited to her birthday party. The pain in Nathan's eyes had been shocking. Duke hadn't realized how much Jess had meant to the reserved detective. Here, now was his wife, and he just felt an old ache, like a scar bothered in cold weather. Jess hadn't even died.

Dark brown eyes stared down, not seeing the grass, but instead seeing a busy California street, and a beautiful black woman running up to him, and who whispered, "kiss me like you mean it or I'm dead." Duke had done so with pleasure. In the distance, he saw a man abruptly leave turn aside and disappear into an alley. He'd never known who was chasing Evi, but that first kiss had been amazing.

She had wrapped him up in her cons after that, and he in hers until they quickly couldn't remember who was running what racket. All he knew as that this woman had brought something into his life he'd never experienced before. It wasn't like his father and his mother had a great and abiding love for one another. One was always leaving the other for some reason, until things got too thick and the absent parent returned. Duke sometimes thought that the whole concept of marriage was strange, until he got old enough to realize that other kids' parents didn't disappear for days at a time.

In a ratty apartment with Evi curled up around him like a blanket he could remember being perfectly happy, and wondering if this was what love was like for other people. If this is what his mother had finally found in that banker from Massachusetts. The scent of Evi's skin, the feel of her hair against his chest, it was what he wanted. He knew then that one day he would have to return to Maine, but just then he had Evi, and that was enough for him. It wasn't enough for her.

When the fights started, he couldn't remember who started them. At first it was stupid things. She left damp towels on the floor, and he rummaged through her purse when he needed cash to pay the bills. She would flirt shamelessly with the landlord, or the harbor master, or any male that might provide her something for little to nothing. If it was just words, Duke might have been able to cope, but Evi was nothing if not thorough. He had to watch as she conned men, resting her hand lightly on their chests, or playing with any jewelry the men might have had. He remembered the anger he felt when she had done the same when she returned for him in Haven, and he realized she was only there to con him.

Their fights had gotten worse over time, until it seemed like they were fighting more than they were doing anything else together. Duke thought back on Eleanor Ryan's words and realized the old woman had been right. When he had married Evi, he wanted nothing more to be with her for the rest of his life. When he had left her, he never wanted to see her again. Sometimes when he was lonely enough in the hours between midnight and dawn, he could still hear her scathing evaluation on his merits as a man and husband. When she wouldn't sign the divorce papers, he just up and left on Cape Rouge. He didn't want to think of it as running from a woman that broke his heart.

It had damned near killed him when she told him that he was special the night she'd died. He wasn't, she had told him that enough times in their brief time together. He was just a tool she could use when it suited her. What hurt worse was that in the three years they'd been apart, he'd changed how he thought about her. Distance made the heart grow fonder, and he had set out to find his wife a couple of times, but had never succeeded, never putting forth a real effort if he was honest with himself. He preferred Evi's memory to her reality.

When she showed up in Haven, he got a crash course on why their marriage hadn't worked. That pushy, manipulative streak, but oh how he had loved her eyes and her smile. It was an open invitation to make mischief together, and a lure he couldn't resist, even knowing he was courting his own ruin. Even knowing he was being conned. He didn't trust her anymore, if indeed he ever trusted her. Still, she was like that friend that always dragged you into the weirdest situations, most of which you regretted, and some of which you thought were the best days of your life. A ragged laugh shook his frame as he realized that this was almost exactly what Nathan must endure every time Duke came around: the person who'd be a great friend, if they weren't so untrustworthy, unreliable, and such a general pain in the butt.

Duke had known it wouldn't have worked between Evi and him, something had been too broken, but he hadn't wanted her hurt. Definitely didn't want her dead. _When did I fall out of love with her_? Duke wondered. _I did love her. But I don't any more_, he realized. The grief he felt was for someone he cared about, but was more like when his cousin had died in a skiing accident. There was sorrow, but not the overwhelming pain of loss. Eleanor was right, passions burned out, leaving only embers. Quickly he asked himself who _would_ he want to be with for the rest of his life.

Audrey immediately came to mind. He remembered finding her in the all too coffin-like box on Carpenter's Knot. The warm rush he felt when she opened her eyes had made him giddy with relief. She had laughed when she told him much, much later that she thought Duke was the one that had been holding her hands when she came to. She'd been upset with the thought that he'd been crying, and had turned his own words against him, or so she thought. Nathan had probably just been confused.

Maybe Evi's grandmother was right. Maybe it was time for Duke to move on. He would miss Evi, but he could survive with out her. He had for three years. Hell, she'd been as good as dead to him for most of that time. He was sorry that her smile wouldn't never again make someone feel like the luckiest guy in the world, but he hadn't felt that way himself in a long time. Maybe it was time to see about making a new life. First though, he would find out the information that would ensure he would have a life for the foreseeable future. Then he would see justice done for Evi and for the other victims of the Rev. If he was good, and he was, he'd do both at once.

* * *

><p>Haven, Maine<br>8:30 a.m.

Like every morning for the past four days, the first thing Audrey did after waking up was to go to the window and look for Duke's Land Rover in the parking lot. And like every morning for the past four days, the lot was completely empty except for her own car. She sighed as she turned away from the window.

What if he didn't come back? Haven had its fair share of bad memories for all of them, but Duke was the only one to have lost a spouse - in a round about way - to the troubles. Over the past few months he had occasionally grumbled about missing travel, and she was becoming increasingly worried that he'd been inspired by the time away to just take off for good. The thought depressed her because he was one of the few people in Haven she'd really grown to care about.

Shaking her head, she chided herself for being ridiculous. Even if he was willing to leave her, Nathan, and his restaurant behind without a word, it seemed harder to believe that he wouldn't at least come back for his boat.

A buzz at her hip begged for her attention. "What, Nathan?"

"Uh. According to Laverne the coroner's office just called in an S.O.S., asking us to come discuss some sensitive information. Doesn't sound good, anyway."

"Oh. I guess we'd better go and see what's the matter."

"Right. I'll pick-" Nathan started to say, but was immediately interrupted.

"No, Nathan, I'm going to drive myself to the station," Audrey told him. "I have errands to run tonight, and I don't want to come all the way back here to get my car first."

"Okay."

"Bye, Chief."

"Don't call me that," Nathan replied instantly, sounding irritable. "I'm only the interim chief. As soon as they find someone else-"

"Which is not happening so quickly, is it? You have one chief immediately die after taking the position and suddenly people aren't beating down the door to get in," Audrey teased. She was pleased that he was back in charge, even if it wasn't for good.

"-as soon as they find someone else, and they will, I'm back to detective."

"Maybe."

She hung up wondering why he was so often eager to drive her everywhere. In a way it made her feel like he enjoyed having her as a captive audience, or perhaps it was chivalry gone haywire. Either way, being driven so often made her feel fifteen years old, and not like a competent adult with a license of her own. Abet a competent adult who couldn't actually recall ever taking a driving test.

* * *

><p>"Hi, Audrey," Vince Teague called as she walked towards the station. He had a stack of newspapers under one arm, and was no doubt about to fill the nearest Haven Herald box.<p>

"Morning, Vince," she said, smiling. Dave was usually friendlier than his brother, but she liked both of them.

"Long time, no see."

"We've been busy," Audrey apologized. It really had been a while since they'd spoken. "Weirdest calls lately."

"So..." He paused meaningfully. "I hear you broke up with Chris Brody."

"Not you too," she muttered. "Yes, I did. And everyone has been telling me what a bad idea that is."

Vince cocked his head. "Everyone? Even Nathan?"

"No, he's been very nice about not joining the pile on," Audrey said before she realized that Vince was giving her a pointed look. She almost asked him what gave, but she was pretty sure she knew exactly what he was getting at. "He's being a good friend that way," she finished lamely, having had to put deliberate effort into not stressing the word friend.

"I'm sure he is." Vince nodded slightly. "You could do worse than him for a...friend."

Audrey looked at her watch. "Would you look at the time? I better get inside now, we've got a long drive to get to the coroner's office this morning."

Vince's eyes lit up. "There's something interesting going on with those bodies pulled out of the ocean?"

Relieved that he was now digging for an exclusive rather than trying to shove Nathan at her, she shrugged. "Could be. Coroner said he couldn't talk over the phone."

"Now that does sound interesting. Keep me in the loop, would you?"

"If the chief approves, sure."

"Well, I'm sure you have some pull with him, don't you, dear?" he asked before turning away. She was left feeling like she should cringe all over again.

* * *

><p>9:45 a.m.<p>

_I'm glad I never went into medicine_, Audrey found herself thinking while they waited for the coroner to come in and talk to them. _I never would have gotten through human dissection._ Somehow, the other Audrey's memories of being an FBI agent included relatively few encounters with the dead. For a big city Boston's murder rate wasn't huge, less than 2000 over the course of Audrey's entire life, and not many of the cases had landed on the young agent's desk.

Nathan seemed relatively at ease, if bored, as they waited by a stainless steel table that had probably seen more corpses than Audrey cared to think about. She couldn't help but give the drawers behind where Nathan sat wary looks, hoping that they wouldn't have to see more than one or two of the victims. They'd both been fortunate not to have to watch the bodies pulled out of the water when they washed up, but she knew that they would be in even less pristine condition more than two weeks later.

"Would you stop pacing?" Nathan eventually complained. "If I wanted to be around someone who couldn't sit still, I wouldn't have pawned career day off on you."

"Sorry, it's just..." She spread her hands helplessly. "I'm no good with bodies."

Nathan was spared the pain of formulating a tactful response when the door swung open and a short gray-haired man in scrubs strode into the room. He greeted them with a little frown, which didn't strike Audrey as being very friendly considering that they'd dropped everything to come see him.

"Doctor Salt," Nathan acknowledged.

"Officers," Coroner Walter Salt said briskly. "We have a problem."

Audrey swallowed hard. "Did you need to show us a body? Bodies?"

To her relief, Salt shook his head. Her relief was short-lived. "There are no bodies to show you."

Nathan's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is this: I came in this morning, and the bodies were gone. All of them," Salt said, pulling one of the drawers open with a flourish. A bit of condensation was the only thing in it.

"So you're saying that someone stole the bodies?" Nathan asked, not bothering to try and hide his incredulity. "How does something like that happen?"

Salt shook his head. "I have no idea. Security is reviewing the tapes, but so far they haven't found any evidence here in the room or on tape that points at a break in."

"Bodies don't just disappear into thin air," Audrey protested. Neither man contradicted her.

The coroner shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you. But I will say one thing, what little I did learn before the bodies unceremoniously disappeared was troubling."

"What?" Audrey asked, rising to the bait when Nathan didn't.

Salt put a file he'd been holding onto the table, which made her feel faintly ill. "I got a DNA match on one of the bodies, but it makes no sense. According to the DNA databank, the dead man is a waiter slash occasional bit player in movies who has a criminal record."

"What's wrong with that?" Nathan asked. "We'd floated the idea that this might have been a movie or historical reenactment gone wrong."

"The problem is that the actor in question is alive and well," Salt said unhappily. "He answered the phone when I had my assistant call his wife to break the news of his death."

"Wow," Audrey muttered. "He's got an identical twin, maybe?"

"Maybe," Salt agreed. "Or maybe some sort of secret cloning experiment."

"You watch too much sci-fi, Doctor Salt," Nathan grumbled. "I guess we're not going to get anywhere with this case through the bodies."

"Not unless they come back," Salt agreed cheerfully. "Thank you both for coming to see me. You understand why I couldn't simply leave a message at the station about this."

"Yes." Nathan stood up. "Audrey, we're done here."

"Okay." Glancing at Salt she said, "Bye, nice to meet you."

Salt snorted. "I never meet anyone who's glad to make my acquaintance in this room, young lady. Don't feel like you need to be polite."

Audrey didn't realize how cold it had been inside until they got out and the sun's warmth reached her. "Nathan, what the hell is going on?" Audrey asked, looking back at the building. "None of the other calls we've tackled the last couple of weeks have made any sense, either."

"I don't know. But we'll get to the bottom of it."

"How do you know?"

He shrugged. "We always do."

* * *

><p>Things were otherwise quiet until late in the afternoon when residents from one of Haven's nicer streets reported that a homeless person was shambling down the road and generally causing a disturbance. They swung by to check it out, but whoever the man had been, he'd left by the time they got there.<p>

"Nathan," Audrey asked as they sat in his truck, "Don't you think we should keep looking for this guy? People don't usually go stumbling down the road moaning without there being something wrong with them."

"I think we should check for a pulse if we find him," Nathan told her, the corners of his mouth quirking with mirth.

"Ha," she replied sourly.

* * *

><p>Later<p>

Audrey was looking forward to leaving on time that night for once, but immediately kicked herself for having the thought because Nathan came into their office looking grim. "Disturbance out on Heather Lane."

"God," she muttered to herself. "Just when you think you're out they drag you back in. What sort of disturbance?"

"Sounds like animals of some sort."

"Just 'animals'?"

"Laverne said there was a lot of screaming, hard to make anything out in that case."

"Great." She stood up and pulled her keys out of her desk drawer. "My turn to drive."

"Okay."

* * *

><p>When they finally reached Heather Lane, Audrey shot him a look utter disbelief. Nathan was amused. "We should check for a forest fire. This is like that scene in Bambi."<p>

"Bambi had all sorts of animals," Audrey objected, staring out the window at over two dozen bucks milling in the road. "This is just deer."

"Okay. You ever direct traffic before?" Nathan asked, shooting her a doubtful look.

"Can't say I've had the pleasure."

"It'll be a learning experience then."

"Why can't you do it?" she whined.

He tapped his phone. "Once I get in touch with the game warden, I'll give you a hand."

Nathan tried not to smile as he watched his partner gingerly get out of her car and try to assess the situation. At least she didn't do anything to spook them, which was something he'd once seen an idiot impatient with a flock of geese do. The fool had been lucky not to get any broken bones after a stunt like that.

* * *

><p>Audrey felt completely foolish as she stood in the middle of the road and warned drivers about the deer. Many of them slowed to a stop and asked her what was going on, and all she could do was tell them that the game warden was on his way. Glancing at Nathan who was directing traffic from the opposite direction, she was hopeful that it was the truth because she didn't relish the idea of the two of them waving their arms and screaming at the stubborn deer to get them moving.<p>

All at once, the deer picked up their heads, as if they were listening to something she couldn't hear. A hope that they would soon move on was dashed to pieces when they all picked one direction to run in: right at her parked car.

Audrey watched in horror as several of the deer crashed head first into her car. A buck with an impressive rack shattered the passenger side of her car with his antlers, and a few more rammed into the doors. "No!" she shrieked when one industrious rammer managed to pop a tire.

Nathan responded to her yelling by giving up all pretense of directing traffic in the other direction, which was probably just as well because none of the three drivers in that direction seemed to be moving an inch. She couldn't blame them for not wanting to put their own vehicle in the deer's line of fire.

She heard a car stop behind her, but was distracted when one of the frenzied bucks took a running leap and landed on the hood of her car. It left an impressive dent, and she nearly cried.

Shouting for everyone to stay back, Nathan pulled his gun out and fired into the air, gun pointed off towards the trees so there was no danger of the bullet finding a fleshy target. The wild-eyed deer bolted at the sound, leaving them standing there to look at the damage to Audrey's car.

"Audrey? Are you okay?" a familiar voice asked, making Audrey glance behind her.

"Jess?" she asked in disbelief.

The other woman answered shyly, "Hi."

"You're back?" Nathan asked tonelessly.

Audrey noticed that this made Jess flinch, but she didn't remark upon it. "How long are you back for?"

"For good," Jess replied, intentionally looking at Audrey rather than Nathan.

Nathan stepped away, pulling his phone out.

"Wow, that's great," Audrey told her, but as the brunette moved, she caught sight of her savaged vehicle again. Her shoulders sagged. "Oh damn."

"I hope you belong to triple A because I've already called them for you," Jess told her.

"I do, thanks."

"Laverne and Stan are going to drive my truck over," Nathan said, hanging up his phone. "And I'll wait with you for the tow truck."

"So...does this count as an act of God?" Audrey asked them. They had no answers for her. "Boy I hope not."

"Audrey, we should get together and catch up soon," Jess suggested. "I'm afraid I have to be going now, though."

"Right, we'll do that."

"Bye, Nathan," Jess called tentatively. He waved, but said nothing.

Audrey watched her walk off before turning back to her partner. "Nathan, they killed my car!" she wailed.

He shook his head sympathetically. "It's going to be a long wait, Audrey. Joe is the only tower in town, and he's notoriously slow."

"That's just great," she muttered, going to lean against the car.

Audrey looked up at the moon and tried to calm herself down. She had great insurance with full coverage, and they'd sort things out for her. But how she wished that she hadn't insisted on driving.

Glancing over at Nathan, who was bending down to pick up glass from a headlight she hadn't realized had busted, she wondered why he'd been so cool to Jess. Maybe he'd simply been caught off guard, she decided. Having someone walk back into your life like that was a pretty big deal after all.

* * *

><p>11:20 p.m.<p>

Nathan's windshield wipers groaned over the windshield, complaining that the light misty rain falling wasn't enough of a challenge, and the sound set Audrey's teeth on edge. She was tempted to reach over and flick them off, but to do so would probably mean leaning on Nathan, and she had no intention of touching him any more than absolutely necessary: now that her suspicions about way he'd been looking at her lately had been validated, she was trying very hard not to lead him on considering he was obviously already getting encouragement to pursue her elsewhere.

"What are you thinking about, Parker?" Nathan asked, startling her. It wasn't his sort of question, so she immediately began to feel wary again.

"The fact that your wipers sound like they're being tortured. That I need to do laundry within the next forty-eight hours or there will be issues. That someone reported seeing what sounded an awful lot like a description of a zombie shuffling down Glengarry road today. That a couple dozen deer did their best to murder my car...you know, the usual."

"I can't do anything about your laundry, your car, or the zombie report, but..." His hand reached over and flicked off the wipers, filling the truck with a blessed silence.

As they pulled up in front the Grey Gull, Audrey noticed that the place was lit up. "Looks like Duke's finally back," she said spotting his vehicle in the lot just before reaching over to release her seatbelt. Her fingers fumbled in her haste to finally get out after such a long day.

"Oh, goodie." Nathan shot her a sour look. "Guess my little vacation from him is officially over."

"Behave, Nathan. And have a little compassion, would you?"

Before he could retort, she got out of his truck. She didn't get very far before she heard Nathan rap on his window. He rolled it down when she turned to look at him. "If I find anything out tonight, I'll give you a call."

"Okay." She tried not to whine. Apparently Nathan wasn't as eager to put the case behind him for the night as she was. Audrey squinted and tried to imagine him spending the evening relaxing, maybe watching a DVD or curling up with a book. She couldn't get either one of these mental images to gel. "Thank you for waiting for the tow truck with me."

"Welcome," he said, giving her a small smile before driving off.

* * *

><p>an: Are the chapters too long (and event-filled) to encourage commentary? We could do shorter ones...


	4. True Confessions

a/n: For the record, the bulk of chapters 4 (this one) and 5 were written first, within 2-3 days of "Lockdown" airing, and the earlier chapters fitted around them. So, if you were wondering why the last three episodes of season 2 will eventually be part of this story (well, they're already part of the story, but not yet posted) but the spoilers note that they're AU...you'll soon realize why =)

* * *

><p>After all the things that had gone wrong over the course of the day, she was grateful to see that the local car rental company had already dropped off her loaner. It didn't seem to be the smartest idea to leave the keys in the glove box like they had, but they'd been in business a long time and probably were better at assessing that theft risk than she was.<p>

Rather than walk up to her place, Audrey found herself at the Gull's front door. Though light had been visible through the windows, it was only dimly lit inside. Still, Audrey only noticed that the sign on the door was still flipped to closed when a peevish voice called, "We're still closed."

She saw him standing at the bar, methodically polishing glasses that didn't need it. "Duke?"

"Oh, it's you," he said, frown melting away, but he still looked tense.

"Do you mind if I sit down?" she called back, hesitating just inside the threshold.

"We really are closed and I don't feel like fooling with the register tonight, but I guess I could give you a drink on the house." He began to set out glasses, and reached for a bottle of Grey Goose without consulting her as to what she'd like. This made it clear that what they were drinking on the house would be his choice.

"I thought cops got free coffee from businesses, not booze," she remarked as she came to the bar and claimed a stool.

"I'm fresh out of coffee and donuts, sorry." It was probably meant to be a joke, but his tone was too heavy for that to be obvious.

"So..." She studied his face for a moment, and he didn't flinch away from the scrutiny. "How are you?"

"Do you know that you're the first person to ask me that?" He leaned against the counter, bringing them slightly closer together. "Everyone else seems to think I should feel well rid of Evi."

"That's...I'm sorry."

"You know, I believe you." He pushed her glass towards her. "I don't think you liked her very much, but you really are sorry she's dead. No one else cares."

"Duke, I don't think anyone hated her," Audrey protested.

He sighed, reminding her of some half-forgotten cartoon dog she'd watched once. "They didn't hate her, they're just completely indifferent to her death. It's like 'Your until recently estranged wife is dead? Oh. Did you catch that Red Sox game Thursday?' as if someone getting shot in front of the police station is beneath their notice."

She had the urge to apologize again, but didn't. "Maybe they just don't know what to say to you."

This had him scowling, but not at her. "I suppose I can't really blame them, but it makes me feel bad that I don't feel worse myself. Upset, but not destroyed." Duke met her eyes. "I cared for her enough to wish more than anything that she hadn't come here and gotten mixed up with the things that got her killed...but I wasn't in love with her. Not any more, and not for a long time if I'm honest with myself about it."

"Oh." Unbidden, she found herself replaying the moment when Duke was reluctantly forced to reveal the fact that he had a wife. She'd been stunned, and on some level felt betrayed. Of course, she'd assumed that anyone who was married was in love with their spouse...apparently the other Audrey had taken the happy stories she'd read growing up to heart that way.

His long fingers toyed with a stack of napkins on the bar. "Nathan loves to talk about how stupidly impulsive I am, imagine how much mileage he would have gotten out of knowing that I married a girl I'd only known a month. He still hasn't asked me anything about how I ended up married, you know."

"Nathan's not big on personal questions," Audrey said, thinking about how Nathan clearly wanted his feelings for her to be reciprocated, but had never attempted to ask her to tell him how she felt about him. Maybe he was afraid to, she mused. It was hard to blame him, considering. "But I'll bite. How did you end up marrying her?"

Duke smiled wanly. "I know you'll be shocked, but it was part of a con. Hers, not mine. Somehow she talked me into believing that we'd be an even better team married, and one thing led to another..."

"Was an Elvis impersonator involved?" she asked, struggling to keep a straight face.

That earned her a brief smile. "No, a justice of the peace. You know how people use the term 'unmitigated disaster'? Our attempt at wedded bliss was the epitome of that. Still, we tried, for a while. She'd of told you not long enough, but you have to know when to cut bait and move on."

"Yes you do." Audrey tried not to smirk because she didn't want him to think that her amusement was at his failed marriage. It was just funny to hear someone like him use a fishing analogy for some reason. It was as difficult to picture him fishing for fun rather than as a commercial venture as it was picturing Nathan reading one of her paranormal romance books.

"It's hard to believe but we were apart for more than three times longer than we were together."

"Well," she said, reaching across the bar to stop his fingers from plucking at the napkins. Duke looked like he hadn't realized what he'd been doing. "You can't beat yourself up for not feeling worse. You said she was gone for what, three years?" she asked, thinking about something he'd told her about Evi one night when she'd come in for dinner with the other Audrey. "I don't think after being separated for three years you're expected to play the grieving widower convincingly after just a few weeks' reunion."

He pulled his hand away with a rueful grimace. "If anyone asked me what I thought I'd be at this age, widower, grieving or not, would never have been on the list."

This time a small giggle snuck out. "Of course not, until a couple of months ago you'd have killed the asker with shock since no one knew you were married."

"Funny." Duke knocked back his own forgotten drink before looking at her. "Enough about my failed relationship. How's Chris?"

"I wouldn't know," Audrey said dully.

"Why not?" he asked, quite obviously surprised.

The way he'd followed a comment about failed relationships with an inquiry about Chris had her initially assuming that he somehow knew about her breakup already before he asked, but she no longer thought so. His wording had been an innocuous coincidence after all.

"I broke up with him the day after Evi died, Duke. Right after they let us leave the station."

He shot her a look, one a mix of intense curiosity and barely disguised glee, and not entirely of the misery loves company sort. "Do you mind me asking why?" Duke's first thought was that she somehow blamed him for Evi getting killed, but he quickly realized that didn't make sense. Chris's little stunt with the gun had come after Evi's final breath.

"I'm going to need another drink for that one," she said before sighing.

He nodded slightly before pulling her empty glass back across the counter to fill it. It was empty again in seconds.

"He said he needed me."

"That's bad?" Duke's tone was careful, as if he was trying not to push her too far.

"Damn right it's bad!" she exclaimed, smacking the bar with her open hand and making him jump. "Sorry. Women want to be wanted, not needed. Okay, some women want to be needed, but not me. I get enough of being needed from everyone else around here. Troubled people need me, Nathan needs me..."

Audrey shook her head. "God, Nathan. I'm sure the past two and a half weeks have sucked for you, but it hasn't been a picnic for me either, especially once I had to tell Nathan that Chris and I were through. If I get one more covert glance from him, or have just one more person ask me why I broke up with the wonderful Chris Brody, I think I'll lose it."

"I don't." She looked at him, so he explained, "Need you, I mean. I don't need you."

Audrey looked at him for a long moment. "No, you don't. You just..." Her hand fluttered up again for a moment before coming to rest on the bar between them.

* * *

><p>"Want you," Duke finished, not daring to look her in the eye.<p>

Her surprised laugher was jittery, and had him thinking about the glasses Henry had broken weeks before. "You score points for directness," she said once she pulled herself together.

"I try," he said modestly. When she looked up, he let his dark eyes lock on hers. "But I don't think I've ever tried to hide my interest from you."

"No, I guess you haven't."

"Good. From the first morning after fishing you out of the sea like an unwanted puppy..."

"Thank you." Audrey look entertained. "Comparing me to an unwanted puppy is much more flattering than a drowned rat. I mean that. I'd rather be a puppy than a rat any day."

"You were cold and turning blue, and for a couple of tense minutes made me worry that you weren't going to breathe for me, but still beautiful nonetheless," Duke told her, thinking about what it had felt like after jumping overboard to rescue her and realizing that she wasn't breathing when he'd pulled her out of the water, "in a Sleeping Beauty sort of way. Of course, it wasn't until you woke up in the morning and came out wearing only my shirt and brandishing a gun that I first wanted you."

"It was the gun, wasn't it?" she asked, deadpan.

Duke shrugged helplessly. "What can I say? A girl who'll pull a gun on you the second she meets you is all kinds of hot."

She nodded slowly for a moment, thinking about something before she gave him an accusatory look. "You peeked, didn't you."

"What?"

"That morning, when I changed into my clothes, you peeked."

"Twice."

"Duke!"

"What? What man wouldn't have peeked?"

"Nathan," she shot back instantly.

"I said what _man_, not what repressed gentlemen with a white knight complex."

"Point taken."

"And as someone who once ordered me to take off my underwear, I don't think you've got a leg to stand on, Audrey."

"I suppose not," she mumbled.

He raised his eyebrows. "You're **_not_** going to tell me that the request was nothing more than official police tactical strategy?"

"I could, but would you believe me?"

"No, because you find me as fascinating as I do you."

"Duke."

"You're denying it, Officer Parker?" The moment the words slipped out, he regretted it. This time he'd probably pushed her too far, and after the remark about Nathan and his glances, he should have known that she was in no mood to-

Audrey broke the silence that had built up between them. "I'm not denying it."

"I'll be damned." He waved his hands in an animated erasing gesture. "And not in the way the Rev is afraid of. I always had a feeling that..." Duke trailed off and looked up at her, slowing his words down. "That's why you've acted differently around me since Evi arrived, isn't it?"

"Did I get skittish about flirting with a guy I only found out was married when his wife showed up? Um, yeah." She knocked a couple of fingers against the bar twice and pointed at the bottle of Grey Goose until Duke got the hint and poured her a third drink. He poured himself another as well.

"Because you were interested in me. More than in Nathan," Duke said, looking quite pleased.

"Unh uh, no." She shook her head, hard, new drink completely forgotten. "We're not comparing you to Nathan, or talking more about Nathan and his infatuation of me," she said, almost spilling her glass as she waved at him. "This conversation had better stay between you and me, because I don't want it to be open season in Haven on dissecting my feelings, and I **really** don't want to have to start peppering my conversations with him with statements like 'Nathan, you're like the brother I probably never had.'" Audrey glowered at him. "And if you start saying anything like 'Audrey season! Duck season!' this conversation is over. O_ver_."

"Wouldn't dream of it. And this stays between you and me," Duke said seriously. "Contrary to what Nathan thinks, I've seldom gone out of my way to intentionally hurt him."

"Okay..." She stared off into space for a moment before looking resigned. "In for a penny, in for a pound, right? Just before Max Hansen arrived and screwed things all up in so many ways, I was beginning to entertain thoughts about what it'd be like to, to be with you. Then Evi showed up, and that made me feel guilty and confused, and I tried my best to tamp those feelings back. It worked for a while but then you all died on me."

"The time loop day? When you got trapped in Nathan's second favorite Bill Murray movie?"

To his surprise, she suddenly gripped his forearm. "You have to tell me, Duke, what's his favorite Bill Murray movie? I've been trying to figure it out, but he won't say."

"Um...it's Scrooged. His dad took us to see it when we were eleven. But getting back to the topic of how come you couldn't completely bury your feelings?" he prompted impatiently. It felt like if she didn't get it out now, they'd go back to saying too little about their mutual attraction.

Her fingers relaxed and slide off his arm. "Right, that horrible day. Chris and Nathan died, and I was sad. God, I was so sad...but when you died, I was horrified. The thought of losing you forever, it..." Audrey gave him a bleak look. "...tore me up inside. I don't know if I'd ever been happier to see anyone than I was when time reset and I saw you there, alive. I hugged you so tightly, and you didn't know why, you just hugged me back the way I wanted you to.

"Then it was all over, and the day went on. I hadn't lost you, any of you. I should have been relieved, but as I watched you from the doorway later that day, I felt hurt all over again. I hadn't lost you, but I didn't have you. No matter how much I wanted it, I _couldn't_ have you. I may not know much about myself, Duke, but I know that I'm not the type to chase after married men. Realizing that you were that out of reach, it pierced my heart."

"Jesus, Audrey." Her confession was a surprise and not a surprise at the same time. He'd sensed some of it from her, from the way she so often held back after the chief died, but his brain hadn't been able to - or maybe more accurately hadn't allowed him to - pull all the pieces together.

"Pathetic, isn't it?" she asked with a hollow laugh.

"No," Duke said softly. "It says a lot of good things about your character."

"Yeah right. I never was able to make myself not want what I shouldn't."

"I mean it. Being a good person doesn't mean exorcising your inappropriate feelings, it means not acting on them."

She looked dubious. "Maybe."

"And, I'm not married now," he pointed out.

"As if I haven't felt guilty about thinking that over and over the past two weeks, too," she said unhappily.

"Look at it this way, you can't possibly feel more guilty about that then I have thinking about you the past two weeks."

"You did?"

He rolled his eyes. "Don't try to play the ingénue now, it doesn't suit you."

"Me?" she asked, deliberately trying to look innocent and failing miserably.

"I'm not sure what we have to feel guilty about, anyway. I didn't just bury Evi Crocker, loving wife. Or even Evi Crocker, wife who returned to try to make another go of things. Her coming back here didn't have anything much to do with her feelings for me, and she certainly didn't want to wear my ring again," Duke told her, thinking about how emotion-free sex had been Evi's idea. "She had an agenda, it got her killed. It's terrible, but we didn't do anything to her."

"I know."

"Where does this leave us?"

"Here."

"Yeah, here," he echoed.

"This is probably the most forthright conversation I've ever had with someone from Haven," Audrey declared uncomfortably.

"That's...sad."

"Sad, but true. The question is, what do we do now?"

"Now, like right now? Or 'now' as in the grand scheme of things given that we've finally confessed ourselves?"

"Right this very right now."

"Drink shots until we pass out?" he suggested. Even before taking over the Gull he'd been a believer in alcohol's power as a healing balm.

"Or we could go upstairs." She gave him a meaningful look.

"Really?"

"Really."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile<p>

Nathan had been on the way home when he'd seen something to change his course: a billboard for a new Lobsterpup franchise opening on Little Tall Island. After pitying the poor islanders who would have an influx of tourists with poor taste coming onto there small island, his stomach suggested that he eat, and it better not be anything in the faux lobster family. So he detoured down route 1 and hit up a fast food place with a late-night menu. The bag was sliding around the passenger seat, and he hoped that he'd get home before his fries got cold.

"Nathan, you there hon?" Laverne's voice crackled over the radio when he had less than a mile to go.

He pawed at the dash for a moment before grabbing it up. "I'm here." _Wish I wasn't, but I'm here_, he thought.

"I've taken two calls in the past fifteen minutes. People are reporting that homeless man stumbling around on Glengarry again."

Nathan sighed and gave his meal a longing look. "Has he hurt anyone?" _You know, bit them, chased them around crying about brains?_ he added internally.

Of all the locals he worked with, Laverne had to be the one who suspected the most what the police were really called out to deal with given that she was the first point of contact for panicky Havenites. He'd never asked her what she thought about the troubles, and she'd never volunteered an opinion.

"No. Mostly he's causing a ruckus by crashing around. I promised that someone would check it out, maybe drive him to the homeless shelter to dry out."

"I'm on my way."

"Thanks, sugar."

* * *

><p>The "homeless man" wasn't in sight but also not hard to track; a trail of tipped over garbage and recycling bins left a trail down Glengarry road. Nathan had been quick to investigate, but raccoons and a stray dog had been even faster. Fortunately, his truck approaching them drove them all off. He didn't envy the people who had to clean up in the morning.<p>

Before he did anything else, Nathan put his windows down, hoping to pinpoint where it might be by sound. It was possible that he'd watched too many zombie movies, God knew that he and Duke had loved watching them on the semi-rare occasions growing up that they got along, but he found it hard to believe that a zombie could be silent and stealthy. It was therefore his firm conviction that he'd know he was close from a chorus of desperate moans floating out into the rain.

Which is why he very nearly missed it.

Between two buildings, a figure quietly stumbled back and forth at the end of a closed off alley, caught like a lobster too dumb to figure its way back out of a trap. It looked like a man, but one who had spent a while underground. Despite its activity up and down the road, dirt still clung to the tattered suit someone had buried him in.

Staring at it, Nathan began to brainstorm ways it could be caught without coming in contact with its teeth. That seemed to be a common problem in zombie movies, but he wasn't in one, so the thought felt absurd. A lot felt that way to him lately.


	5. Unfortunate Timing

The Grey Gull

It had begun to rain heavily while they were in the bar, so Audrey took Duke's hand and they raced up the stairs. Their haste didn't help because their clothing was plastered to their bodies by the time they made it inside.

"I hope you're still attracted to unwanted puppies," she remarked while kicking off her sandals. On the way by the stereo she turned it on, and music masked the sound of thunder outside.

Duke's eyes widened. "Are you kidding? I don't care what we look right now. I've wanted this for so long. You can't imagine how many times I've thought about this moment."

"If you mean thinking about it while all alone, please don't tell me," Audrey begged.

"Why not?" he asked, giving her an amused look.

She waved her hand. "It's not **you** thinking about me while, uh, alone, that's objectionable. It's the fact that if I let my mind wander down that road, I have to think about other men I like a lot less who might have thought about me whi-"

Duke made an unmistakable hand gesture.

"Duke!" she laughed, throwing her wet blouse at him.

"I could have helped you off with your wet shirt," he said huskily.

She crossed the space between him. "Could you have?" Her fingers deftly worked the buttons on his denim shirt. Even though she'd seen him shirtless before, she couldn't help marvel anew that a guy with hair that dark had so little body hair.

"Yeah," he said, helping her pull off her tank top, a shirt only slightly less wet than her blouse had been.

Audrey put her hand on his chest and felt his heart's frantic beat beneath her fingers. Leaning in close she kissed his jaw before pulling back and looking him in the eyes. "I've imagined this too."

"I know," he said simply.

The remainder of their cast off clothing made a wet breadcrumb trail to her bed.

As Audrey let him pull her into the bed, she found herself wondering how many time she might have done this before, how many other men had been invited to her bed before her genuine memories began with her arrival in Haven. Duke pushed the thoughts of her uncertain past away as he lowered himself on top of her, and neither of them gave any thought to anything but each other as they fit their bodies together.

Nor did either of them hear her cell phone when it vibrated on her nightstand.

* * *

><p>Glengarry Road<p>

"Come on, Parker, where are you?" Nathan asked his phone rhetorically. He hung up without bothering to leave a message.

Maybe she'd decided to call it a night and had already gone to bed. It wouldn't have been the first time the phone had failed to rouse her, especially when she'd forgotten to take it out of her purse.

What he had to tell her about the zombie wouldn't keep until morning, but he thought it was likely to continue stumbling aimlessly back and forth for a while longer, so turned his truck back on and prepared to drive off. He was just a few minutes from her apartment anyway, so it'd probably be quicker to go and wake her up than to wait for her to get up and check her phone.

* * *

><p>The Grey Gull<p>

It was only as he walked up the stairs towards her apartment that Nathan realized that she probably was awake but hadn't heard him over the music. He smiled to himself, thinking of the time he'd gone by Jess's house and surprised her in the middle of cleaning - Jess had been dancing as she'd mopped her kitchen floor. He could picture Audrey, unable to sleep, doing something similar.

Just as he raised his hand to knock, Nathan noticed that the door wasn't tightly shut, so he tried the doorknob. It turned freely, and he was about to call to Audrey to turn down the music when he saw her.

Under Duke.

For a moment all he could do was stare. A second later he began to fill with indignation, and assumed that Duke was taking advantage of her. Before he could rush to her rescue, he had reason to reconsider that assumption.

"_Oh_." Her voice was soft, but unmistakably pleased.

"I love you," Duke groaned just then.

Shocked, Nathan stumbled backwards, tripping over a shirt before coming to rest against the side of the building.

Outside, he leaned against the weathered siding, breath ragged. Above him the storm raged, sending torrents of rain streaming down over his overheated face. As the droplets coursed down his checks, he found himself thinking of how over the past two years he would have been entirely unable to tell if he was crying in the rain because his face would have already been wet. Not that he was sad enough to cry just then. Instead he was infuriated. He hardly was surprised that Duke had pursued her, but how could Audrey not have told him that she was interested in Duke? He thought she was a better friend than that.

Fighting back an urge to fling the door open and yell at them until his fury was spent, he peeled himself off the wall and slunk down the wooden stairs. Once he threw himself in his truck, he headed back to Glengarry all the while hoping that the zombie hadn't wised up in his absence.

* * *

><p>A Short Time Later<p>

Duke's chest made a pretty good pillow, Audrey decided sleepily, her upper body draped across his. She'd have to move eventually, before one of them succumbed to a fatal case of pins and needles, but at the moment she was content where she was, and Duke seemed happy enough about it too.

Then her phone buzzed impatiently, and she had to wrestle it out of Duke's hand because he'd been faster to react than she was. "It's Nathan," he said, giving it a frown. The call had already gone to voicemail by the time she'd gained possession of the phone.

"We don't need caller ID for that, no one else would call at this time of the night."

"What does he want?"

She held up a hand to shush him and listened to the message. "There's a break in our case, and he said that it can't wait."

"Naturally. His sense of urgency knows no limits. Even on his death bed he'll be telling the grim reaper to wait for a bit, something urgent has come up."

Audrey cringed. "Let's not talk about either of you dying, okay?"

"Oops."

"Neither of you are allowed to ever die on me again," she said firmly. "You're both too important to me for that."

"Okay, I promise," Duke swore. "But I guess that means he and I aren't allowed to kill each other, then."

"It sure does."

"You'd better get going, then." Duke made a shooing motion. "Or you'll give him another reason to be tempted not to agree to your terms."

"You're not going to try and keep me from leaving?" she asked when she rolled off of him without being tackled and pinned to the bed. It disappointed her a little.

Duke shook his head. "I'm not laboring under the false impression that sleeping with me once changes who you are. Me and sex might be a winning combo, but it can't beat your sense of responsibility into submission, at least not this quickly. Just promise me you'll be extra careful, and I'll resign myself to you getting out of this nice warm bed."

"You're not making it easy, believe me," she groaned. "I'd much rather stay here with you."

"Would you?" he asked, running his eyes suggestively down the length of her body.

"Fishing for compliments already, Duke?" she asked, shaking her head. "I wouldn't lie to you."

"That's true."

She was about to get out of bed when Duke's hand shot out and gripped her wrist gently. "What?" she asked, giving him a quizzical look.

"I know that some men have a history of claiming that things said during sex don't count, that they're just things blurted out in the heat of the moment, but I'm not that guy. I meant it. I do care for you. Deeply."

To his delight, she smiled sunnily before kissing him. "I know."

"And is it mutual?" he pressed.

"I'm not standing here saying 'Duke, this was a bad idea. Let's forget it ever happened,' am I?"

He narrowed his eyes slightly. "Is that what you said to Chris?"

"No," she snorted. "No. Instead the only day I woke up with him in my bed, I packed him off to England."

"I don't need my passport today, do I?" he asked, giving her a languid smile. Clearly he didn't think so.

"You don't. Actually, if you want, you can go back to sleep. I hope I'll be back soon, and you can keep my bed warm."

"Well, you know I don't usually do cops favors, but I guess I could make an exception in this - hey!" He yelped when she flicked the discarded pants she'd just picked up at him. They were still damp.

"Down boy."

"As you wish."

She dressed as quickly as she could, but the urge to glance back to look at him slowed her down. It was hard not to wonder if he'd really wait for her, but she supposed that it depended on how long Nathan kept her out.

"Bye, Duke," she said as she made her way to the door.

Wind must have blown it the rest of the way shut after they'd hastily stripped because his shirt was caught between the door and the frame. Sighing, she pushed it aside with her foot and let herself out; laundry definitely would have to wait. One last look through her window assured her that Duke was still drowsing in her bed.

* * *

><p>Glengarry Road<p>

"Help!" a voice screamed into the night, giving Nathan a start. He looked around but saw nothing. "Help me!"

"Where are you?" Nathan yelled back, practically tripping as he hastily climbed out of his Bronco and sloshed through a puddle. "Hello?"

"Over here!"

He ran in the direction of the voice, and found himself racing down the sort of long, set back driveway that he always assumed meant the house it belonged to was built by someone who had very little experience with Maine winters and snow removal.

It was a curvy one, the sort that would be a pain to back down during even the nicest of weather, and when he rounded one of the curves, he felt like he'd been transported a few months back in time. A bear roared angrily, and made threatening moves towards a blonde woman about his age who huddled near an overturned trash can. Unlike the case that was giving him sudden déjà vu, this bear was unlikely to be a stuffed animal with a chip on its shoulder. Instead it had probably been tempted by the same thing as the raccoons and had wandered down here to see if there was anything else good to eat in the area.

Having been schooled young about bear encounters, Nathan scooped the lids off the two trash cans the bear hadn't managed to get into yet. "Hey!" he yelled at the bear, and it swung its head in his direction. Its near-sighted eyes tried to gage his threat level.

Nathan's immediate response was to crash the trashcan lids together, and the air rang with the sound of it. It had the desired effect, and the bear turned abruptly, dashing past him in an ungainly lope. He crashed the lids together a few more times for good measure, and was gratified to see it race into a wooded area across the street.

Only then did he turn back towards the terrified woman. "You just moved in?" he asked, remembering that the house had changed hands, though only because there had been a picture of it listed as "recently sold" in the late Joe Santomauro's real estate office.

"Yes, how did you-"

"That's how you deal with bears. They're easy to scare with loud noises."

"Oh. Thanks so much, officer-" she squinted, trying to see if he wore a name tag.

"Wuornos."

"Officer Wuornos." She gave a nervous laugh. "I've never seen a bear outside a zoo before, and I had this awful thought that my husband would come home from his business trip tomorrow only to discover me mauled in the driveway."

"Black bears don't usually attack people. Not unless you mess with their cubs."

"I'll have to remember to leave any cubs I see alone. Thanks again."

"You're welcome, ma'am." Nathan left her standing there, and began to jog back to where he'd left the zombie cooling its heels. If Audrey didn't show soon, he was going to have to find a way to subdue it on his own.

* * *

><p>"This had better be good, Nathan," Audrey muttered in her rental car. Going out to look for a zombie wasn't literally the last thing she wanted to do just then, but it ranked pretty high on the list. She was just thankful that she hadn't had actually gotten to have her third drink.<p>

Nathan's message hadn't been very specific about where he expected to meet, but as Audrey slowly cruised down Glengarry, she spotted his truck. She pulled up behind him and, when she got out and checked the driver's side, was not happy to see that he wasn't in it.

She was about to pull out her radio and demand to know when she realized that she didn't have one and would have to requisition one at the station in the morning. Fortunately he was when she spotted him jogging towards her. "Good. You got my call," he called, half out of breath. "Your thoughts on how to contain the zombie?"

"Where is it?" Audrey asked expectantly.

He gave her a look of disbelief before pointing past her, and into the alley. "It's right-" He blinked. "It was right there."

"Isn't this a little late to be hazing the new girl?" Audrey snapped, feeling the full weight of the day upon her. Nothing in the dark alley suggested that anyone had been in there recently. "It's awfully late to be playing a prank."

"I'm not playing a prank," he snapped back.

"Right." Scowling, she couldn't help but wonder if he was trying to punish her for not being receptive to his overtures. She wasn't sure what put that thought into her head, but it felt right somehow, at least based on the other Audrey's memories of rejected men. Obviously she hadn't been as subtle about rejecting his advances as she'd hoped.

* * *

><p>"It was right there," Nathan insisted again, pointing down the alley between Haven's last video store and a thrift shop. He couldn't figure out why she was being so obstinate and that irritated him...and he was already angry at her to begin with. Not as angry as he was with Duke, but still fairly angry for falling for whatever lines Duke must have fed her.<p>

"Was it," Audrey asked flatly.

"I watched it stumble around in there for close to twenty minutes before I called you. It wasn't going anywhere." Until it clearly did.

"All right then. You go north, I go south, and neither of us tries to engage it before the other comes to us," she said, sounding like the FBI agent she used to be. Or used to think she was - Nathan tried not to think very hard about that sort of thing.

"Yeah, all right."

They spent the next three quarters of an hour wandering the road, peeking into backyards, and hoping that they didn't alarm the homeowners whose yards they were straying into. Nathan had no idea what Audrey was thinking about during the canvas of the street, but he could guess. His own thoughts were consumed by the angry realization that as good as lashing out at Audrey or Duke might feel, he couldn't. If he did, they'd know that he'd let himself into Audrey's apartment, and he didn't think that letting on that he'd basically, if completely unintentionally, spied on them would lead to anything good.

After that forty-five minutes of fruitless searching, Audrey phoned him and demanded that they meet back at their vehicles. Even he was tired of looking for it and finding nothing, so he reluctantly agreed.

"I'm done," Audrey declared. "It's obvious that we're not going to find whatever it was you thought you saw tonight."

"What I thought I saw?" he repeated angrily. "Are you accusing me of making it all up?"

She held her hands up in surrender. "Let's not do this. It's late, we're both tired..."

"Right. Go."

Nathan watched her slip back into her car, and wondered again what Duke had done to talk his way into her bed. As angry with Duke as the thought of trickery made him, part of him wished that he'd come up with a more honest way to get there first himself.

* * *

><p>Rain slicked down Audrey's hair, and left tracks on her face as she climbed the stairs to her apartment. In her haste to respond to Nathan's call, she hadn't stopped to think about a raincoat or umbrella, and it seemed to sense that given a fresh downpour began the second she got out of the car. For the second time in one night, she couldn't wait to get out of her wet clothes.<p>

Before she got the door open all the way, she heard the faint rumble of her dyer. It was on the tip of her tongue to thank Duke for doing her laundry, but a few seconds' investigation found him asleep in her bed.

She wandered into the bathroom, stripped off her clothes and hung them over the bar for the shower curtain, and brushed her teeth. Then she slipped into her bed beside Duke. Nathan could spend the rest of the night chasing zombies if he wanted to, but she had no intention of getting out of bed again until it was light out.

* * *

><p>Although he'd tired himself out by doing their laundry - correctly, with the aide of internet instructions for ladies' delicates - Duke wasn't so deeply asleep that he failed to notice that a naked woman had just climbed into bed with him.<p>

"Oh, you're awake," she said, still leaning over him. She must have been trying to tell if he was awake because she spoke the second his eyes opened.

"I'm awake," he sleepily agreed, sitting up himself. "And glad you're back."

"Me too. I wouldn't be if Nathan had his way, but I put my foot down. There's no reason to be looking for an imaginary monster in the rain."

"That must have surprised him. He seems to expect everyone to obey his commands."

"And that's why they made him chief." She suddenly frowned. "For a while, anyway. He deserves to be chief for real, not just interim chief like he is now."

_No thanks to Evi_, Duke thought regretfully, but didn't say. "Did you..." Duke looked over at her, and was momentarily distracted by the fact that she hadn't pulled the covers over herself yet, before regrouping his thoughts. "Did you tell Nathan? About...you know."

"Of course not," she said, a little too quickly for his liking.

He raised his eyebrows. "Of course not?"

"Don't look at me like that. I meant 'of course I didn't, because doing so would only have led to hours worth of lecturing and hurt looks, all when I wanted nothing more than to crawl back into bed.' Get it?"

In response he pushed her to the mattress, making her laugh in delighted surprise. "I think you're the one who's going to get it."

"Oh yeah?" she asked, arching up to kiss him.

"Yeah." Her skin still felt chilled by the rain, and he resolved to do his level best to warm her up before sleep took them both.

* * *

><p>The Rust Bucket<p>

After Audrey stormed off, Nathan had spent almost another half hour looking for the zombie. If he had found it, a vague plan to feed it his now ice cold meal to distract it lurked in the back of his brain, but there had been no further signs of it. Maybe the gray skin tone was just dirt and moonlight fooling his eyes, and it really had been a homeless man who'd found a place to go to ground for the night.

He'd almost driven back to the fast food district when he found himself parking out behind the Rust Bucket instead. If there was ever a night when he deserved a couple of drinks, it was then.

The menu offerings at The Rust Bucket made the sandwich selections offered at the Irving station down the street look expansive, but even the Bucket couldn't screw up a burger and fries, so he sat at one of the tables and had a beer while he waited for his food to arrive.

"This chair taken?" a familiar voice asked, making him look up. Chris Brody was standing next to him. Fortunately, he recognized him before he'd looked him in the eye, so he didn't suddenly decide that Chris was his best friend.

"Go ahead," Nathan replied, gesturing to the empty chair.

He'd expected Chris to walk off with the chair, but Chris sat instead. "What are we drinking to?" Chris asked, a pitcher of beer in his hand. An attentive member of the bar staff brought glasses over and plunked one in front of Nathan.

"Piss poor taste in women," Nathan said after a moment. Dark thoughts about Audrey and Jess raced through his mind for a moment before he could banish them.

"Now that's something I can get behind," Chris remarked. "Women definitely suck."

"Yep, a lot do. Why can't they be up front with you the way men are?" Nathan asked, watching as Chris poured beer into their glasses. From the way he managed to spill some, Nathan guessed that he was a few drinks ahead of him.

"It's the X chromosome," Chris told him. "It causes underhandedness. They've got twice as many as we do, making them twice as likely to stab you in the back."

He blinked. Chris sounded even more bitter than he felt, and to his knowledge, he hadn't had the horrifying experience of walking in on the object of his affections with another man... Audrey had obviously lost her mind if she'd decided that sleeping with Duke was a good idea, though he was certain that Duke had made himself seem so pitiful that she'd tried to comfort him in all the wrong ways. Maybe it would turn out to be a one time thing, though he wasn't sure if that was more likely because Audrey'd come to her senses, or because Duke would be happy to move on now that he'd obviously gotten what he was after.

"I've thought about joining a monastery," Chris added, not having noticed that Nathan had zoned out. "Since I don't trust any women to even really like me for myself. You're troubled yourself, you must know what I mean."

"Sure..." Nathan said vaguely, since Chris obviously wanted to be agreed with.

"One night stands aren't really fulfilling anyway, and it's not like I'm cut out for more than that, so why not? I might be able to handle the vow of poverty thing, but I really don't look good in black, so maybe not."

"Yeah."

As the level of beer remaining in the pitcher got lower, Chris continued his diatribes against the fairer sex, and Nathan just made noises of agreement when appropriate between bites of his burger. All he could think was thank God he wasn't Chris. The man had serious trust issues, and considering the fact that everyone loved him for no reason, it wasn't as though they weren't merited. The other man's problem helped put Nathan's in perspective. So what if Jess hadn't bothered to tell him that she was coming back? So what if Audrey had obviously lost her mind in the last few hours? At least those were hurts that could be gotten past, unlike the one that Chris had.

Eventually the pitcher was empty, and Chris gave it a sad look. "Thanks for letting me join you tonight. I think I really needed to get that off my chest."

"No problem," Nathan replied, getting up to leave, feeling a bit better than he had when he'd arrived.

"Later, man."

* * *

><p>an: _I'm going to apologize in advance for the fact that November is going to have less frequent postage than October did, or the future will. Since it's November I'm writing a novel for NaNoWriMo (50,000 words in 30 days...no really, I've reached that goal 3 years past, so it's doable. barely) AND starting a brand new job this week. And Faerax's employers are trying to make people where she works insane with overtime. All of this means we'll have less time to devote to this story than we'd like...and makes me kind of regret that we've written so many scenes out of order. Oh well. We'll post as much as we can, but please bear with us._


	6. Nathan the Hero

The Next Day

Audrey's alarm woke them both, and unlike couples in movies, they didn't try to convince each other to be "a little late." Neither police work nor a restaurant business were very understanding about their slaves wanting to spend a little more time away, so they got dressed while Audrey's coffee maker did its own part in making the morning a little more bearable.

"I was thinking about what we started to talk about before we fell asleep," Duke said, looking up at her from tying his shoes.

She was in the middle of buttoning her blouse herself. "About telling Nathan?"

"That. When do you plan to do that?"

"I don't know. Why?"

"I'm just trying to figure out if you're the type of girl to tell everyone, or keep new relationships to yourself. I figure on the latter because you didn't mean to tell me about Chr-"

She walked over and put a finger over his lips, and for half a second he worried that she was about to scold him for daring to use the term relationship. "Geez, Duke, most guys can't stand it when their new girlfriends go on and on about their exs, and you talk about Chris more than I do."

The word 'girlfriend' gave him a warm feeling, not the trapped one he'd sometimes felt when other women he'd had relationships with had adorned themselves with the label so soon. Smiling, he gently removed her finger. "Sorry. Leftover remnants of man-crush from his powers of awesomeness," he said, struggling to keep a straight face.

"It's okay. And I don't think I'm the run-and-tell-the-world sort."

"I'm not either."

"No kidding. How about we agree to tell people on a need to know basis?"

Duke smirked at her. "Who needs to know?"

"Exactly."

Duke followed her out the door, and resisted the impulse to hold onto her possessively. She had work to get to, after all, and it wouldn't be fair to keep her from it. But when they reached the landing, he did stop her. "Where's your car?"

"I got a rental," she said, pointing to the blue sedan parked in her usual spot.

"Why?"

She gave a helpless shrug. "We got called out last night, and long story short my car was abused by a couple dozen very angry deer who did a lot of damage. It'll probably make the paper."

"But they didn't hurt you or Nathan?" Duke asked, feeling oddly unsurprised that he knew someone whose vehicle had been molested by wildlife.

"Nope, we didn't get a scratch."

"Right..." he drawled, happy that even Nathan had escaped a goring, "be careful today, okay?"

Audrey stood on her toes and gave him a kiss. "Promise."

Later, after she'd left and he'd gone downstairs to whip up some waffles for the scant breakfast crowd, he wondered if he should feel guilty for manipulating her. Nathan wasn't the one he was really worried about learning about their new relationship, though he knew that his reaction would be extremely negative.

It was the Rev that actually concerned him. There would be no pumping him for information if he realized that Duke was literally sleeping with the enemy. Hopefully he'd convinced Audrey to keep a tight enough lid on things to keep the bastard from suspecting anything until Duke got what he wanted from him.

* * *

><p>9:30 a.m.<p>

"Nathan, what the hell?" Audrey exclaimed, sounding dazed. "Seriously."

All he could do was shrug. The morning was going smoother than he had predicted, not in small part because of the call they'd gotten just after getting in to work. Even half an hour later the bizarreness of it was able to keep him from replaying nauseating images from the night before, something he was deeply grateful for.

"So, let me get this straight," Audrey said, motioning at the scene before them with her coffee thermos. "Until yesterday, this was an abandoned lot."

"We got calls sometimes, kids out here playing stick ball too late, but yeah, otherwise completely abandoned, just an open field with some weeds."

"But...!" she sputtered.

What had once been a cleared lot now held something else. Stones, ones scored with chisel marks to suggest that someone had once worked them, littered the field. More disturbingly, some of the piles of stones gave the suggestion of walls, though they were drunkenly piled and looked ready to fall in a stiff breeze.

"Seen some pictures of things like this before," Nathan offered. "Romania, maybe."

Audrey put a hand on her hip and shook her head. "That's a good place for castle ruins, Nathan. Haven, not so much. New England isn't known for its great castles."

"Kimball Castle," he replied.

"What?" Her expression was baffled.

Nathan resisted the urge to sigh. "Down in Gilford New Hampshire there's a big castle. Supposed to be one of the most haunted buildings in the country."

"Fantastic," she said, throwing her hands up in the air. "By all means let's call Gilford and see if they're missing a castle. That's a call that will go well."

"Later," he agreed, mostly to see her outraged look. "We should look for those wolves."

"Yeah, that's another thing. There aren't supposed to **be** any wolves in Maine, at least not any more."

"Google?" he asked.

"Yes."

He shrugged. "Some come through. Transients, on their way to Canada." As soon as the words were out of his mouth he regretted them. Canada reminded him of just one thing.

"Do I look like animal control to you? I didn't sign up for this, and you didn't either. Get the game warden back out here, he'll be glad to have another story to talk about. Besides, he missed last night's episode with the deer so he owes you for solving that problem."

Nathan didn't relish the thought of looking for quote "the biggest damn wolves you can imagine" but he didn't see what choice they had. With luck, the wolves had passed on by. He was more interested in knowing who'd attempted to build a castle without attracting any notice, but that had to wait until they could assure residents that they weren't going to be mauled if they stepped outside their houses that night.

When he glanced at Audrey, he noticed she was giving him a pensive look. Eventually she said, "I'm sorry about last night."

"What?" he asked, horrified for a moment by the assumption that she knew that he'd accidentally walked in on her and Duke.

"I'm trying to apologize for being so bitchy last night. If you say you saw a zombie, I should have believed you. I don't know what got into me, but I wasn't fair to you."

He bit back a retort about knowing what had gotten into her. "It's all right. I was grumpy too."

Audrey sighed. "I think everything being weird, even by Haven standards, lately is getting to us."

"Probably." Things had definitely gotten weird, that much he agreed with.

* * *

><p>The Grey Gull<p>

Jess walked into the Grey Gull, surprised by all of the changes in the restaurant. It was close to eleven and Duke Crocker was actually behind the bar, polishing glasses. A few other patrons were scattered around the room, eating either late breakfast or early lunches. She approached the bar, a little nervous. Jess had never had much to do with Haven's resident pirate/smuggler/restaurateur. While she knew Duke in passing, she knew his friend Nathan much better. Still, Duke had been willing to help in the past with a trouble, and perhaps he would help her with Nathan and Audrey.

Jess threaded her way between the bar stool and the bar itself. While she was maneuvering, Duke put down his glass and ambled over to her. "How can I help you..." His look of sudden recognition was a bit comical. "Jess Minion?"

The brunette nodded. "Yes, Mr. Crocker. I was wondering if you were still serving breakfast."

"Sure." Duke dipped below the bar to find a breakfast menu. He slipped the plastic coated document across the bar. "Let me know when you are ready to order." Duke headed back down the bar to continue polishing his glasses.

She flipped over the menu to and took a second to decide. "Could I get the steak and cheese omelet?"

Duke raised his eyebrows. "Huh. I figured you for a vegetarian."

"No, I never have been nor, I think, am I likely to be one at this late date." Jess wondered why everyone in town made that particular assumption. Just because she didn't like to kill animals didn't mean that she had any objection to eating them.

Duke disappeared into the back, where the kitchen was. She was mildly surprised that he actually was the one to make the omelet. It must have been a slow time, she thought. She watched as he added the ingredients, and some spices, then carefully wrap the egg up into a roll. It was done with a peculiar care. Watching this man carefully make the omelet led her to think about all the horror stories about him that Nathan had shared with her. The two seemed somewhat incongruous.

He presented her omelet with a flourish and a side of bacon and hash browns. She dug into the food with a hunger. "Mmm, this is good!" she said after she had swallowed the first bite.

"Thank you. I try." Duke seemed to be satisfied that she was satisfied and drifted off to his glasses again. She continued to enjoy her breakfast. However, she did notice that he kept flicking glances her way, studying her when he thought she wasn't looking.

It was time to take the proverbial bull by the horns. "Have you seen Nathan? I ran into him last night, but we didn't get to talk."

"Today? No. He usually doesn't come here unless Audrey forces him." Duke paused in his polishing. His entire body language screamed he was on guard.

"Oh, does he not like your cooking?" Jess was genuinely curious.

"He doesn't really like me." The smuggler looked down at his glass and inspected it. It must have passed whatever criterion he set for its use because he put it aside and grabbed a new one. "He wouldn't come here at all if Audrey didn't live upstairs now."

The woman nodded. "I thought that Over the Way would get to be expensive. Duke, tell me, do Nathan and Audrey still help people with their...troubles?"

"Why do you want to know?" Duke finished polishing the second glass and walked back to Jess after he put it away. He leaned down over the bar. As he did so, an argument broke out at the other end of the bar. Two men started swearing at each other. "HEY! Take it outside or you'll never come inside again!" The two men jumped and left. Duke must have read the misery on Jess's face. "Hey, what's the matter?"

"I think I just did that..." She closed her eyes and tried to achieve a quiet calm. It mostly succeeded.

Duke laughed. "You are responsible for the Red Sox Yankees rivalry? Wow. You have a lot to answer for, Miss Minion."

"No," she cried out miserably. "Everywhere I go people start fighting. It started happening after they accused me of being a witch. That's why I need to talk to Nathan and Audrey about this, except I'm worried that Nathan hates me because of how I left."

Duke took her hand. "Jess, I know I don't really know you at all, but I do know the two of them. If you need help, they'll give it even if they hate you. Hell, Nathan was by my side when I nearly died from someone's trouble, and he's never made any bones about hating me. Besides, I know a secret." The proprietor's face lit with a grin. "Nathan Wournos still misses you. He came in here and got drunk a couple of weeks ago. He called some dark haired tourist by your name after he attempted to dance with her."

"He did what?" Jess was shocked.

"Yeah, I know. Nathan can't dance. At all. It's kind of scary." Duke smirked at Jess.

"No, not that. I know that." Jess had long since decided dancing with Nathan was not to be done in public. "He called another woman by my name?"

Duke nodded. "Yup."

"I'm surprised considering that our not talking last night was mostly because he didn't seem to want to," Jess confessed.

"Give the guy some time, Jess. He was probably stunned to see you back," Duke advised. "Now as for Mutt and Jeff, the two that got into the fight, I wouldn't worry too much about them. Mutt's a long term Yankees fan and Jeff, his brother, likes the Sox. Those two have an argument in here about once a week about either baseball or about football. Mutt's a Patriot's fan and Jeff's a Steeler's fan. I doubt you are responsible for their argument seeing as they were about due for one anyway."

* * *

><p>Later That Week<p>

It was the sort of warm late August afternoon that had small children confined to buses mouthing 'help me' at passersby when the buses drove down Haven's roads. Duke waved to a few of the young prisoners and wondered when Maine had started sending kids to school before Labor Day. He and Nathan had only started the school year that early once that he could recall.

Sidling up to Audrey, he asked, "Why am I here again?"

She tried to smile, but her heart wasn't in it. "Proven valor in the face of deadly plant life?"

"Okay...how did you explain calling me for help to Nathan?" he asked, wishing that he could joke the faint horror out of her expression. He couldn't really blame her for the trepidation, considering the last time they faced down plants that moved of their own volition...he was never ever going to suggest watching **The Happening** together.

Audrey shrugged. "You don't think I really explain it to him anymore, do you? He's usually happy for your help, not that he ever showers you with gratitude."

"Nathan is not an easy man to be friends with," Duke said with a sigh. "Good thing he and I aren't really friends, then."

"Frenemies?" Audrey offered.

"You watch too much girly TV." He motioned towards the problem area. "I guess we'd better..." Duke shouldered the oversized bag he'd brought from the hardware store, and followed Audrey over to where Nathan stood talking to the distraught director of The Gertrude O'Keefe Retirement Home.

"Nathan," Duke said, pulling a canister of fuel out of the bag he was still holding and handing it to him. "You ever use one of these things before?"

"A flame thrower?" Nathan asked, accepting one from Duke next. "Can't say that I have."

"Just don't point it at anyone, and we should be okay."

"Are we sure this is necessary?" Paul Daguerre, the sixty-year-old director asked fretfully.

"Pretty damn sure," Audrey told him firmly. Her eyes scanned the rest home's large backyard, tracking the movements off in the distance. Duke was glad that at least one person had been keeping an eye on the things.

Daguerre sighed. "Forgive me, it's just that they've been here as long as this building has been a retirement home. And the retirees love them so. Well, not so much today, but usually."

"Well," Nathan said. "If they'd stayed put, they could have continued to be here. But..." he gestured to where something large and green was racing around in the distance.

Heels clicked on the flagstones, so Duke wasn't surprised when a voice soon called, "Mr. Daguerre?"

When he saw who it was, Duke grinned. "Hey Jess, what are you doing here?"

"I volunteer here," Jess replied, coming over to join them. Audrey smiled a greeting and Nathan dipped his chin in acknowledgement. "What's going on?"

"Do you know how to use a flamethrower?" Duke asked. "We've got an extra since Paul here doesn't really want to do this."

In response the home's director frowned at him and backed away, as if afraid that Duke was going to force the implement of destruction on him.

"What?" Jess asked, looking rightfully confused.

Nathan motioned to the back edge of the yard. "We need to get rid of those topiaries." Unfortunately, none were visible at the moment he'd spoken.

Jess spun around, pointing herself towards where the topiaries usually stood. All that was there then was a few shed needles and churned up dirt. "This has to be some sort of prank. Right?"

Nathan made an indelicate noise. "You're really asking that, Jess?"

"Come on, man, don't be so mean," Duke told him.

"No," Nathan growled back. "She saw enough of this town to run away from it with her tail between her legs. She doesn't get to pretend not to know what goes on in Haven."

"Nathan, enough!" Audrey snapped, giving Jess a quick sympathetic look before turning back to her partner. "Why don't you and Duke go around that way, and we'll go this way."

Rather than deign to reply he stomped off, leaving Duke to scramble after him.

* * *

><p>"It's not you," Audrey said as she and Jess picked their way around a rock wall at rear of the property. "He's been pissy on and off for days."<p>

Jess sighed. "Let me guess, ever since the night you and he saw me?"

She thought about it. "Well, he was fine until later that night. I think I ticked him off by not believing him that there was a zombie. Or maybe because I didn't..." she trailed off, realizing that she'd said too much.

"You didn't what?" Jess prompted, eyes full of curiosity.

"I didn't show any non-platonic appreciation for him staying with me to wait for the tow truck," Audrey mumbled. "Ever since I broke up with Chris it's become clear that he expected me to fall for him instead."

"But that's silly," Jess said easily. "You're involved with Duke, aren't you?"

Audrey froze.

The other woman's look was sly. "I'm not wrong, am I?"

"How did you know?" Audrey asked shakily. She glanced over to where Duke and Nathan were, and felt relief that they didn't seem to be fighting. "It's only been a few days."

"Duke is being extraordinarily careful not to flirt with you. It's so out of character that it made me suspicious," Jess explained. "Don't worry, I doubt Nathan has picked up on it."

"It's not like we're trying to hide it from him. I just haven't found a good time to tell him."

"Don't wait too-"

Whatever Jess was about to say went unsaid because it was at that very moment a twiggy green elephant charged at them. Both women readied their flamethrowers and grimly advanced upon the angry topiary.

It pawed the air in a manner very unlike either a real elephant or a real hedge, and slowed down indecisively. Before it could decide to run off, they turned the flamethrowers on it. It didn't make a sound of protest as it burst into flames.

"This is all really too bad," Jess lamented as it burned. Since it was green, it didn't go up nearly as fast as it would had it been dried out. "I've always loved the topiaries here."

"Maybe they'll replace them with ones that don't attack anyone," Audrey suggested, trying to be nice about it. She never cared for sculpted hedges herself, but was aware that many people found them lovely.

* * *

><p>"I've actually read about this happening," Duke said as he and Nathan stalked a lion. "I know people don't think of me as much of a fiction reader, but I like books as much as the next guy."<p>

"This was in a book?" Nathan asked. "Hedges coming to life and terrorizing the elderly?"

"Well, not the elderly. But a family who was taking care of a hotel over the winter. Actually, Audrey mentioned that they used the same idea in a new book she's reading right now about magicians too-" Duke broke off abruptly, cringing inside when he wondered if Nathan would demand to know when he and Audrey had gotten together to discuss recent bestsellers.

To his relief, Nathan snorted. "I didn't think she read anything that didn't involve werewolves or vampires making stand-up boyfriends."

They paused long enough to roast the tiger they'd finally caught up with. The lion noticed their assault on its companion and bolted. "Damn it. Did you see that thing? I'm pretty sure it had a bit of housecoat in its...teeth? Whatever you call teeth made out of twigs."

"I saw it. That's probably the one that attacked Mrs. Brannigan."

"Is she okay?" Duke asked. "Audrey didn't tell me much beyond that they'd attacked a few of the old folks."

"Just a couple of bruises, looks like. None of the residents were badly hurt, just badly scared."

"It's lucky none of them had a heart attack."

"Most of the people here have lived in Haven for decades. It takes more than being attacked by shrubbery to give them chest pains."

"That's probably true," Duke agreed. He found himself wondering if any of the old codgers who lived in the home could be shaken down for historical answers about the town. Maybe he'd hint to Jess about it and see if she suggested someone to talk to. But judging from what he'd noticed about the residents, this didn't seem like much more than a pipe dream.

Nathan gestured suddenly. The lion hadn't gone very far. Flamethrowers up, they ran towards it.

* * *

><p>From the dots of fire Nathan could see just beyond the border of the property, Audrey and Jess had managed to take down both the elephant and the giraffe before either of the irritable hedge-works had decided to try to brave the stream that cut across the adjoining property.<p>

That left the lion and the rhino, and he and Duke were closing in on the lion. In what seemed like a stroke of good fortune, the lion stopped and sniffed something on the ground. He and Duke both took advantage of the moment by starting their flamethrowers.

Duke was in the middle of lowering his to set the lion on fire when it all went wrong.

Later it seemed clear that Audrey and Jess had gotten separated as they went after the rhino. Jess ran by in hot pursuit, which would have been okay because he and Duke had both noticed her. Duke had shrugged off the interruption once they'd passed by, and was advancing on the still distracted lion. But then the rhino did an abrupt about face and pounced at Jess, forcing her to dive back - directly into the path of Duke's flamethrower.

Nathan didn't even have time to think things through - he just threw himself at Jess, knocking her to the ground and under the path of flame sputtering out of Duke's flame thrower. Greenery poked into Nathan because the rhino hadn't been spooked by the actions of any of the humans.

Duke loosened a startled string of swears, and the twigs and leaves disappeared. A moment later there was a thump as Duke dropped the flamethrower, and Nathan was hauled to his feet. Duke gripped at his shirt, eyes wild, and began to scream at him. "What did you think you were doing? I could have killed you!"

"Well, you didn't," he snapped, trying to pull away, but Duke wouldn't let him. "But you can't convince me that you'd of shed too many tears if you had."

Duke let him go and gave him a hurt look. "I've always known that the odds of you ever respecting me are nearly nil, but I never realized that you hated me this much."

"Duke," Nathan mumbled. Duke was a thorn in his side, now more than ever, but he didn't hate him. Not really. "I'm sorry."

"You saved my life once. Try not to cause me to cost you yours, okay?" Duke said, apology probably accepted.

Nathan almost forgot that Jess was there until he noticed her dusting off her clothes. The rhino was on fire next to her. "You okay?"

She gave him a funny look. "I'm not the one who got all scratched up, Nathan." He followed her eyes and noticed that there were short cuts all over the back of one of his hands and wrists. "I'll go get the first aid kit. Good thing I know where it is."

Several hundred yards away Audrey was roasting the lion. Her back was to them, and Nathan wondered if she'd even noticed what had happen to the rest of them. It seemed unlikely; he doubted that she'd calmly continue to hunt down the last animal if she'd seen anything.

* * *

><p>"Well, I'm glad that's over with," Audrey said after she'd been made aware of what she'd missed, and Jess had dressed Nathan's deeper scratches.<p>

"Me too," Jess declared. "Because I need to get inside and get on with the afternoon. The grief group won't lead itself."

"Bye," Audrey said vaguely.

Turning to Nathan, Jess said, "Thanks for saving me from being attacked and/or roasted."

"No problem."

"Aww, Nathan, you're kind of a hero," Audrey cooed before dissolving into laughter when both he and Jess turned pink. Jess disappeared into the building a moment later.

"I've got to be going as well," Duke told them. "Henry's replacement is even clumsier than he was, so I probably have some glassware to replace."

"Thanks," Audrey called and Nathan reluctantly did as well.

Duke saluted them and made for the front of the building. He walked by a young boy who had apparently been there watching for a while judging by the awed expression on his face. As soon as Duke went by, the kid bolted.

Jess must have alerted people that the problem had been dealt with, because the doors opened and several elderly people spilled onto the lawn. Audrey watched as a couple made their way for a wooden bench and sat together.

Trying to point discreetly, she caught Nathan's attention. "Don't they look sweet? They make a person believe that life-long love is really possible." She'd hoped to segue into a general discussion about love, to feel him out. Maybe she could casually bring Jess up. It wasn't as though there hadn't been feelings between them before, and he had just gotten himself banged up to save her from an angry hedge, after all.

To her surprise, Nathan snorted. "No, they don't."

"Why not?" she demanded to know.

"That's old man Jacobs, and the woman is Tally Swanson. Al Jacobs was married for forty-five years, right up until he took up with Tally three years ago, and ruined both their marriages."

"Oh," Audrey said, casting about desperately. "Well, maybe not, but life long love is certainly possible."

Nathan glowered unexpectedly. "Maybe it is for some people, but most of us will never find it. Either we fall for the wrong people, or the wrong people fall for us, or the timing just never works out."

"I never realized you were so cynical about love," Audrey said, slightly miffed. So much for feeling him out with good results.

Nathan gave her a long look. "How many times do you need to get burnt before you stop putting your hands in the fire?" When she said nothing back, he pointed towards the road. "Come on, we've got a report to falsify."

* * *

><p>That Night<p>

Audrey had just walked into the Grey Gull when Duke noticed and hailed her over. "Hey Audrey, do you think you could give me a hand in the storage room for a minute?"

"If I do some work for you, will you comp my dinner?" she asked, grinning at him.

"We can probably work something out," he said, leading her through the employee only doors.

"What did you need help with?" she asked, finding herself looking at an eye-level shelf full of salad-worthy vegetables.

"This," he murmured, leaning down to kiss her.

She kissed him back for a minute or two before pulling away. "There was another reason I came in, besides seeing you and feeling too lazy to cook tonight."

"What's that?" he asked, leaning against the wire shelves.

"We really can't tell Nathan we're dating. Not yet."

"Okay...why not?"

Audrey shook her head sadly. "I tried to talk to him about love and relationships, you know as a general concept, not specifically about you and I dating, and reading between the lines it's clear that right now he's miserable."

"Because you're not interested?"

"I'm sure that's part of it, but...I think Jess coming back has put him into a tailspin too. Maybe it'll work itself out quickly, and he'll be happy she's back rather than reminded that she took off on him."

"Okay, we can wait," Duke agreed. "For a while."

"Until he's happier," Audrey insisted.

"What if that takes forever?" Duke griped. "I think he'd eventually notice if we got married and had kids. Even he'd be suspicious about you hanging out with little kids who looked like me and called him 'Uncle Nathan'." The corners of his eyes crinkled and she knew he was trying very hard not to laugh.

"Hey," she said, putting her hand on his chest. "Who said that they'd look like you?"

"Uh, I believe the guy's name is Mendel. You know, a monk, super obsessed with pea plants? I think he also invented that game Four-Square."

"Oh, genetics says that sure, but for all we know they could look exactly like me due to Haven's quirks," Audrey teased.

"In that case I'd hope for daughters 'cause you'd probably make a funny looking boy."

"Gee, thanks," she complained, but he could tell that she wasn't really insulted.

He thought of Evi suddenly. "You do want kids someday, don't you?"

"Sure. Most people do."

"Yeah, they do," Duke said, trying not to show how absurdly happy he felt not to be shot down when casually bringing up the idea of children. Evi's rejection of the concept of parenthood had been rather vicious, and he'd felt bad about his hypothetical children being so harshly dismissed as not worth the trouble. "Even people in Haven have 'em and they've got more of a right to complain about bringing children into 'a world like this' than most."

"Even here things aren't bad forever," Audrey pointed out.

"And even when they're bad, at times they're still pretty good," he agreed, stealing another kiss from her.

* * *

><p><em>AN: __Don't worry, Audrey/Nathan shippers, despite the above conversation this won't end like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows =) This isn't a "they get married and live happily ever after" sort of story. Maybe a sequel - what do you think, Faerax?_

_There really is a haunted castle in NH (well, my co-writer and I disagree about whether any building is really haunted). And it's for sale! If you've ever wanted to live in a possibly haunted castle while not leaving the US, you can buy Kimball Castle for less than a million. What a bargain!_

_Feed us, please._


	7. Cold and White Morning

The Following Week

The crushing monotony of unsolvable cases was getting to Audrey and Nathan both. The longer things went without a solution, the deeper Nathan dug himself into their write ups, the ones he'd made doubly sure that the town council wouldn't see, hoping to connect the dots that way. She, on the other hand, was getting increasingly agitated, and increasingly certain that the answers could only be found outside the walls of the police station.

This led her to following what felt like leads, but ended in disappointment on more than one occasion. Still, though, hunches were hard to ignore, which is why she found herself practically leaping out of her chair one afternoon when the feeling that visiting the hospital might get her somewhere, rather than staying at the office spinning her wheels.

"Where are you going?" Nathan asked when she stood up abruptly.

He'd stopped trying to talk her out of her excursions once she pointed out that she wasn't helping him any by looking at write ups with him. Now that sort of question was more of a request to stay in the loop than the prelude to any argument about the merits of investigating what he termed "Mulder/House leaps," after characters in TV shows he liked.

"I thought I'd go and check on Tami Lawrence," she told him. "We haven't heard anything from her parents in a while, so..." She drifted off. "I don't know. I'm not getting anything done here."

"Do you want me to go with you?" he offered.

"No, it's okay. If by some miracle she's improved, I'll let you know."

Nathan frowned. "Do you think there's any possibility of her recovering? It's been weeks."

"Stranger things have happened," Audrey said, forcing a lightness she didn't feel into her tone.

"Right," Nathan replied, going back to the paperwork on his desk.

* * *

><p>Tami Lawrence's room was in a hushed corner of the ICU. When Audrey was admitted, a dour-faced nurse led her to where the girl had lingered in a coma for weeks. "Her parents are in every day," the nurse confided. "Even though-" She cut herself off, and Audrey suspected that she had suddenly realized that she was about to discuss something of a medical nature with someone who had no authority to know about it.<p>

Audrey decided not to push her. It was obvious that she'd been about to tell her that there wasn't a lot of hope for the girl's recovery. When Audrey had last had seen the girl, she'd had a thick layer of bandages wrapped around the back of her head, but they were gone now. Not only was the surgical incision beginning to heal, some of the hair they'd clipped off to address the skull fracture had also begun to grow back in. Though these developments made Tami look healthier than she had before, it also served to remind people how long it had been since Tami had entered the hospital.

"Does she get any other visitors?" Audrey asked the nurse since she seemed like the type to abhor long silences.

"No. Well, not exactly."

"Not exactly?"

"Andy Kale comes by, but he's not allowed in."

"Why not?" Audrey asked sharply. She was already being to formulate a theory that this Andy was a potential person of interest, and was about five seconds from calling Nathan to suggest a background check on the man.

"Oh," the nurse said, looking slightly flustered. "He's not old enough to be allowed into to the ICU."

"He's not?" she asked, confused.

"No. You need to be twelve or older to visit with patients in intensive care, and he's younger than that. I'm not sure his parents even know he's stopping by after school, but he keeps showing up anyway."

"Any idea why he'd be coming to see her?" Audrey asked, wondering what would prompt a young child to attempt to visit.

"No...I think you'd have to talk to Jess-"

Audrey cut her off. "Jess Minion?"

"That's her, she's spoken to him. Why don't I go get her?" the nurse suggested nervously.

"Sure...I'll wait here with Tami."

The nurse just nodded vaguely and walked off at a fast clip.

Audrey sighed and sat down next to Tami's bed. At the beginning she'd been hopeful that the girl would come to, and be able to give them some clues as to what had happened the day that the bodies washed ashore. Her parents had admitted that they'd had no idea how long Tami had been outside before they heard her yell, so it stood to reason that she might have seen what had happened to provoke the event that startled her almost to death.

The sharp click of heels against the tile floor made Audrey look up. Jess gave her an uncertain smile as she entered Tami's room. "Hi, Hilary said you had some questions for me?"

"I do. The first is why didn't I know you worked here?" Audrey asked, smiling as she did. "Congratulations on landing a job so quickly in this job market."

Jess looked shy all of the sudden. "Actually, I made sure that I had secured a job before I decided to move back here."

"Oh. Good for you. You must have a full plate between having a new job and volunteering at the rest home." Audrey had to bite her tongue to keep from blurting out something about hoping that she wasn't too busy for a social life. If Jess was still interested in Nathan, she was sure that Jess would make time for him, and if she wasn't, trying to push them together would only piss them both off.

"Pretty full," Jess agreed, giving her a look that suggested that it would be nice if she got to the point. Clearly Audrey had pulled her away from whatever work she was doing there at the hospital.

Audrey took the hint. "The other nurse said that you could tell me about a boy named Andy Kale."

Jess immediately looked disheartened. "Oh, Andy."

"What?" Audrey demanded to know.

"Tami was Andy's babysitter. He's come in at least twice a week hoping to see her, but the hospital rules forbid it. So he stands at the window and peers in, hoping to catch a glimpse of her when there's nothing in the way to block the view."

It was only as Jess spoke that Audrey realized that the blinds to Tami's room were up, rather than down like both of the rooms next to hers. If one looked out the window, they had a semi-obstructed view of the window next to the ICU's security door.

"Ah," Audrey said, thinking that was a little sad. But not as sad as Jess and the nurse seemed to. Maybe you had to see his mournful little face to get the full effected.

Looking down at Tami's still form Audrey had to hide her disappointment. Hoping that she'd arrive on the very day the girl regained consciousness had been foolish. What had made her feel so strongly that this was going to be the day that something good happened for a change?

* * *

><p>As far as she knew, Audrey had always hated parking garages, and the one at the hospital was no exception. They were claustrophobic with low ceilings, and so cramped that she constantly worried about backing into someone while trying to get out one of the tight spaces. The worst thing, though, was that sunlight never seemed to penetrate those labyrinths of steel and concrete.<p>

For once the parking garage was mostly empty, which came as a relief because that meant far fewer cars to accidentally hit. Her shoes echoed in the empty space, at least until a creaking noise intruded.

Audrey whipped around when she realized that the sound originated behind her. A black, hooded baby carriage slowly rolled across the floor about a hundred yards in front of her. There must have been a tilt to the floor, because the carriage began to roll more quickly.

She ran towards it as soon as she noticed that it was heading right towards a cement pillar. Someone must have pushed it, but she was too focused on reaching it to look around for whoever had set it in motion. The carriage slammed into the pillar just as she got to it, rocking back hard on its metal frame.

Frantic, Audrey looked inside, hoping that the baby wasn't hurt too badly.

All that was inside was a frayed baby blanket, gray with age. She put a hand on her hip and scanned in all directions. There was no one else there.

"What the hell?" she muttered, spooked. She practically ran to her rental car and threw herself inside it.

* * *

><p>The first thing Audrey did one morning towards the middle of September was to roll over and bury her nose against Duke's shoulder. And the first thing he did was to yelp and jump away from her. When she opened her eyes, he was giving her a baleful look. "Dammit woman, what did you do, put an ice cube on your nose before assaulting me with it?"<p>

"No," she protested, touching her nose with a hand. It was damn cold, making her feel a little bad. "God, it's freezing in here," she moaned, rubbing her arms. The clock said it was only 6:45.

"Which reminds me, did I ever show you where the thermostat is?" Duke asked, climbing out of bed and walking to the wall where a small plastic box she was well aware of hung. He stopped and stared out the window. "Uh, Audrey..."

Shivering, she joined him at the window, and gapped herself. There was snow as far as the eye could see. "I guess this is what Mark Twain meant about New England weather, huh?"

Duke spun around. "No, no it's not." Waving a hand towards the window he said, "This is not normal, even for New England. Sure, sometimes we get a dusting before Halloween, but we sure as hell don't get a foot of snow in September."

"Hmm," she hummed, pulling on her robe and looking for his. It seemed quicker than really trying to find warm clothes. "But the weather in Haven is kind of screwy, isn't it? I mean, you and Nathan talked up how bad winters were last year, and we barely got any snow."

"That wasn't normal either," Duke insisted, taking his robe from her when she found it. He made no move to put it on. "Normal is 60 inches of snow over the course of the season."

She laughed. "I can't believe you know that off the top of your head."

"We take weather very seriously in the northeast," Duke said primly. "Especially winter weather."

"I get that sense, yes."

"We need to get dressed."

"Why?" she complained. She was warm and cozy in the sky blue fleece robe she'd bought at Kohl's.

"You're going to feel pretty stupid wearing a robe when I teach you how to use a snow blower."

"You have a snow blower on your boat?"

He shot her a look. "Of course not. What would I do with one on my boat?"

"I don't know..." Audrey decided that admitting that she'd imagined it could be used to clear the deck would only get her laughed at.

"I have on here, to do the walk ways. I hired a guy last year to plow the lot, but he didn't need to come. Might need to use the snow blower on the lot too, today."

"Is it hard?" she asked skeptically. Apartment living all her adult life hadn't brought her up close and personal with snow removal machinery.

"No, it's self-propelled."

Audrey still doubted him, but she followed him outside anyway once they'd dug up some at least semi-appropriate clothes. She sort of doubted that he'd be warm enough in the jean jacket he'd left in her apartment, but he didn't seem eager to go back home for a sweater. She watched him, and wondered if she should suggest that he leave a few more items of clothing in her apartment, just in case something like this came up again.

* * *

><p>Watching Audrey try to use the snow blower amused Duke greatly, so much so that he fell over laughing at one point. She'd just glared at him a second before going back to her task, leaving him to try to pick himself out of the snow drift he'd landed in.<p>

Eventually he took pity on her, and finished the job. It left them with giant mounds of snow on either side of the wide path they'd cleared. Fortunately, the guy who he contracted to plow came out and tackled the parking lot, so they'd been able to go inside for hot chocolate all the sooner.

Five minutes after The Gull's 'open' sign was flipped over, a gaggle of kids ran in. "Uh, can I help you?" Duke asked politely. Kids weren't infrequent visitors, but they generally came in accompanied by adults.

"You've got two mountains of snow," one of the kids remarked.

"Hey, didn't I speak to your class for career day?" Audrey asked, and two of the kids nodded. "Why aren't you on the way to school?"

"It got cancelled," a girl told her.

"Oh."

"Can we use your snow mountains as forts for a snowball fight?" a third kid asked excitedly.

"I don't know..." Duke dithered. The thought of having a bunch of kids throwing stuff, even snow, as people tried to get in struck him as something that he wasn't sure he wanted to take responsibility for.

"We won't hit anyone who isn't in the fight," the first kid promised, and the rest all agreed.

"Well..."

"Please?" they begged.

"I'll tell you what, if you can recruit two more responsible adults, then yes, you can have a snowball fight. But way at the end of the path, away from my windows."

"Yay!" they cried, running back outside.

"Aww, that's nice of you."

"Sure," he snorted. "If they can't find two more adults, I'm not the bad guy when it doesn't happen."

"You don't think they will find some?"

"I lay odds at less than fifty percent."

"We'll see."

* * *

><p>Dunkin Donuts<br>7:20 a.m.

People liked to joke that in New England you could figure out where just about anything was located if you knew how far it was from the nearest Dunkin Donuts, but Nathan really liked the one down the road from Audrey's place. Laverne's coffee was better, but you couldn't beat their blueberry chip donuts, which is what he was eating while watching the door.

Eventually the door opened and admitted a large blond man who waved to Nathan as he approached. "Honey dip?" Nathan offered, holding out a paper bag to him.

"Thanks," Dwight said, reaching into the bag. "I guess we're not fishing today."

"Not unless we're ice fishing." Dwight's usual fishing buddy had a cold, and Nathan had offered to spend an hour before work out at the best fishing hole in Haven, but it had been frozen over when he drove past it.

"Maybe we could bowl tonight instead?" Dwight suggested.

Nathan gave a non-committal shrug. He didn't dislike his father's cleaner, but he hadn't been dying to spend time with him either.

Just then the door opened, letting in the cold and half a dozen kids. They all made a bee-line for Nathan. "We need your help," a pink-cheeked, brown-haired boy told him solemnly.

"With what?" Nathan asked curiously.

"Snow ball fight over at The Grey Gull," the boy said. "We need two 'sponsible adults, plus people with good aim on our side. You're 'sponsible and who's got better aim than a cop?"

"Uh, I have good aim with a gun-" Nathan began to protest. The thought of participating in a snowball fight on Duke's property didn't fill him with joy.

To his shock, Dwight got into the conversation. "Come on, it'll be fun."

"Really?"

"Let's go."

* * *

><p>Duke was in the middle of supervising the rest of the kids as they built two snow forts when he noticed Dwight and Nathan approaching. "You shutting us down, Nathan? Audrey said there's no law against snow ball fights," he quipped.<p>

"Nope," Nathan said casually. He scooped up a handful of snow and began to pack it into a firm ball. "I was asked to join in, if that's all right with you."

"By all means," Duke said, grinning. He and Nathan hadn't had a snowball fight since they were fourteen, and it had been one hell of a fight. "But you and Dwight have to be on that side." He pointed to where a group of kids were struggling with shoring up a wall made of snow. "As the 'away' team."

"Us against you and Audrey?" Nathan asked. "Okay."

Dwight was already helping the kids with their fort by that point, and Nathan joined them. Audrey gave Duke a questioning look. "Are you sure this-"

"You keep saying that we should do more with Nathan," Duke pointed out. "This is doing something with him."

"Okay..." Audrey shook her head slightly and began to form snow into balls like all the kids, and Duke, were.

"Harder, Audrey, you've got to really squish it together tight," Duke instructed when her first ball immediately crumbled in her gloved fingers.

"Really?" she asked, giving him an arch look.

"Audrey," he warned, cutting his eyes towards Nathan.

Her shoulders sagged. "Private lessons later?" she asked quietly.

"Any time," he told her, wishing that he could get her alone right then and there. But he had promised the kids a good fight, so it'd have to wait.

* * *

><p>If someone had asked her to predict an adjective that would describe a snowball fight with Duke and Nathan on opposite sides, her choice would have been "disaster." But that turned out to be completely wrong.<p>

First, Dwight took it upon himself to keep the kids in line, and they minded him, perhaps in awe of him. Someone who looked like Thor seldom was in the position to oversee a winter game, and they seemed to sense that they were in the presence of something great, so they all eagerly listened and agreed to the rules he proposed. And then they actually followed them to the letter, which made the snowball fight as orderly as possible.

And then Nathan and Duke were transformed into fourteen-year-old boys right in front of her eyes. They took pummeling each other with snow very seriously. "That's not fair," Duke cried out at one point. "You can't even feel the snowballs I'm lobbing at you."

"Cry me a river," Nathan called back, smiling broadly.

Audrey watched, fascinated. For a few minutes, she felt like she'd opened a window to their past, and was peering in at one of the times when their relationship had swung towards the 'friend' end of the pendulum. A deep longing to help them recapture that pieced her.

Which is why, when Nathan tackled Duke after what Dwight sternly declared was an illegal move on Duke's part, Audrey joined the pile on, pressing snow to the back of both of their necks at once, making them sputter indignantly. They both turned on her when they realized that they were being attacked, and she squealed when one or both of them managed to stuff snow down her shirt.

Eventually the three of them tired of trying to stick snow down each other's shirts and pants, and fell back into the snow in an exhausted huddle. Beyond them some of the kids began to cheer when Dwight declared one team the winner. Audrey made no move to disentangle herself from Duke and Nathan. Instead she stayed between them, looking from one pleased face to the other, and wished that the three of them were always that happy to be in each other's company.

Unfortunately, time marched on and snow soaked into their clothes, so they had to get up. The kids were heading off to wherever they went on snow days, and she and Nathan had to get to the station because it was almost nine. Glancing at Duke, she winked, hoping he'd keep the promise of private lessons in mind until she got home.

"Too bad the snow won't last," Nathan said, and for half a second she wondered if he'd read her mind. "Because I wouldn't mind kicking Duke's butt again."

"Winter's coming," she pointed out.

He gave her a funny look. "What have you been reading lately?"

"I don't know what you mean," she admitted.

"Never mind." Nathan yanked the door to his Bronco open. "With luck everyone has remembered how to drive in the snow instead of making us fill out accident reports."

"Fingers crossed," she agreed, getting into her own vehicle.

Maybe there really would be further snowball wars that winter. She really hoped so.


	8. Shipping Up To Boston

_Happy Thanksgiving! I thought that now, while I wait to eat dinner, might be a good time for an update..._

* * *

><p>Two Days Later<p>

When sunlight coming into the window woke Nathan, he rolled over and stretched. It felt nice not to wake to an alarm while it was still dark out, and he considered taking personal days more often just so he could enjoy the feeling of waking up without electronic prompting.

He hadn't told Audrey that he was taking the day off until right before he left the evening before because he knew exactly what her reaction would be. She'd made a cute little quip about hoping he enjoyed himself, but there had been a pinch of worry in her expression. Hoping to erase it, he'd joked about the world not ending if she chose to take a day off herself, and to his horror she'd flinched away like he'd slapped her. "It did the last time," she'd mumbled before hurrying to the ladies' room.

He'd stared after her, wishing that there was a way to understand what she'd gone though back that day. No matter how good a friend he was, he simply couldn't relate because she was the only one who remembered him, Duke, and Chris dying on her. That had to feel lonely, he figured.

The sound of a truck rumbling into his yard had him springing out of bed, and hastily throwing on a sweater and jeans. Most of the snow had melted, but it was still somewhat cool, definitely too chilly to meet his appointment in the boxer shorts he'd slept in even if he was shameless enough to answer the door wearing only them.

When he opened his door, Bill Tate waved from his truck. "Hey, Nathan," he called. "Sorry I'm a bit early, but I've been making good time today."

"No problem," Nathan said, bending to tie his shoes before venturing off the stoop. He hadn't bothered with socks, and kind of wished that he had.

"So, where do you want this?" Bill asked, getting out of the truck and yanking a wheel barrow out of the back.

Nathan pointed at a shed a hundred and fifty yards away. "In there."

"No problem." Bill dropped the tailgate, lined the wheelbarrow up under it, and climbed into the truck to begin shoving firewood into it. As soon as the wheelbarrow was full, he jumped out and brought it to the wood shed.

Nathan watched all of this with a rueful look. Up until three autumns ago, He'd been able to deal with his own firewood. Trees fell on his property all of the time during windy days, and he'd made good use of them, chopping them up and burning them like most of his neighbors did. That had all ended when his trouble came back because it was supremely unwise to use a chainsaw if you couldn't feel it bite into you. Luckily, there were people like Bill he could call to make sure that he had the cord of wood he'd probably need during the increasingly common power failures that Maine and the neighboring states of New Hampshire and Vermont had experienced ever since the ice storm back in 2008.

Bill, who had graduated with him and Duke, had been in the firewood business practically since, so he was practiced and very efficient by then. He had the whole cord of wood squared away in no time. Coming over to Nathan for the check he held out, Bill smiled. "So, do you think that'll hold you all winter?"

Nathan shrugged. "Depends on how many power failures we have."

"Ayuh, I guess it does. My old man is convinced that CMP has replaced half the power lines in Maine with liquorish whips," Bill told him, rolling his eyes. Central Maine Power's ineptitude was legendary, just as PSNH's to the south was, so there were a lot of jokes about them both.

"Well, I won't keep you," Nathan told him. "I've got a guy delivering a generator a bit later on so I don't want any collisions between you in my driveway."

"A genny, huh?" Bill asked with interest. "Gas or propane?"

"Propane," Nathan told him. What he didn't say was that it had been his father's idea. The chief had spent the better part of a month researching the options the fall before he died, and Nathan felt duty-bound to go with the generator his father recommended.

"Good move, they're quieter. See ya later." Bill got into his truck, and waved good bye.

After Bill left, Nathan stood there and looked at the woodshed. The door was still open, and he could see the neat stacks of wood inside it. Looking at it, he found himself pretending that it was a couple years earlier still, that it was back before the troubles had returned. Standing there, breath frosting in the air, he could almost believe that it was all back the way it used to be.

Sighing, he wandered back inside. A day off was a nice vacation from everything going wrong, but it wasn't his reality. Not right then. Maybe it would be someday, though.

* * *

><p>Friday<p>

"How was your day?" Duke asked after Audrey let him in that night only to stumble over to her couch and collapse onto it. Instead of answering she just gave him a tired look. "That bad?"

"That bad." She sighed noisily. "I am so sick of Haven right now."

"At least the snow is gone." It had been fun the day of the epic snowball fight, but within a couple of days it had worn out its welcome.

"I guess," she agreed halfheartedly. "We're getting out of here tomorrow. Far from here."

"How? I thought you were only given a small mileage allowance by the rental place." The deer had put a major crimp in many of Duke's plans since her insurance company was still trying to decide if the car was salvageable or if they were going to declare it totaled. Apparently the garage it was sequestered at was making this decision difficult. Unlike Nathan, he was aware that she hated always being a passenger, which made his desire to have dates away from Haven and the eyes the Rev's flock more difficult.

"I'm not going to drive far. Just to the train station."

"Audrey, you're killing me," he whined. "What are you planning?"

"Drama queen. I am not killing you."

"You don't know. Maybe curiosity can literally kill me."

"Baby."

"It's totally possible that fatal curiosity could be a trouble," he insisted.

"Oh, all right..." she rolled her eyes. "Not that I believe you, but if he keeps you from next insisting that one of your great-great-grandparents was a cat-"

"Gross. Think about what you're insinuating about my ancestors' sex lives."

"Did you want to know my plans, or-"

Duke began to bounce up and down on the couch, making her laugh. "Tell me, tell me!"

"We're going to Boston."

"Where in Boston?" he shot back instantly.

Audrey gave him an evil smile. "You'll see."

He closed his eyes and slid halfway off the couch. "I feel faint."

She patted him on the shoulder. "I think you'll live."

"Hopefully."

"You'll have fun, trust me."

"I will trust you, but only because I love you."

"That's the only reason why?" she asked, giving him a mockingly stern look. "I thought people were supposed to trust the police on matter of principal."

"Who, me?"

* * *

><p>Saturday<p>

"Are you sure you know where we're going?" Duke asked again, long after the train had left them under the new Garden. They'd been taking the subways since then.

Audrey was both surprised and amused by the anxiety in his tone. "Yes, I'm sure. But I'm not sure about you."

"What do you mean?"

"How can you, someone who is so well-traveled, be so confused by a Boston subway map?"

"First, you still haven't told me where we're going," he pointed out.

"True."

"And second, traveling through Boston over water is different, and that's where most of my Boston experience lies."

Audrey squelched a question that immediately popped into her head. There was no point in asking if he'd spent much time in the city with other women while traveling 'over water' since it would only come off sounding jealous. She couldn't really fuss about aspects of his romantic past because she couldn't even remember having one of her own; she was positive that Chris hadn't been the first man that she had gone to bed with, but had no clue beyond that.

She raised her eyebrows. "You're telling me that you and your friends never came down here to hit a few bars when you finally became old enough to drink?" Though she wouldn't put having done so before being able being able to legally drink past him.

"Who do you think I'd of gone clubbing with in my early 20s, Nathan?"

"Other friends," she suggested, hoping that he wouldn't sadly confess to being a lifelong loner. He'd always struck her as the "temporary friends" type instead. Someone that much of an extrovert couldn't have possibly ever thrived without someone to talk to.

"My other 'friends' back then weren't the sort of people I wanted to get drunk around."

"Okay."

"That fact," he continued, "and a number of them now being in jail, is why we're no longer friends."

"I won't tease you anymore," she promised. "About this."

"About this," he complained, but he looked amused.

* * *

><p>Duke allowed her to navigate the rest of the way to their destination without further question or complaint. At least until she announced, "We're here."<p>

"An art museum?" he asked, eyeing the entrance to the Museum of Fine Arts. His expression wasn't quite one of disappointment or disdain, but it definitely lacked eagerness and excitement.

"I thought about bringing you to the Children's Museum, but I wasn't sure they let us in without someone this big accompanying us." She held her hand up slightly higher than waist-high.

"I've never been here before," he admitted. The sort of people he'd been to Boston with before had little interest in art they couldn't sell or steal.

"That was the idea," Audrey explained. "Nathan mentioned field trips to the Museum of Science and the New England Aquarium, but nothing about art museums."

"You grilled him about our childhood trips?" Duke asked, wondering how she'd worked her questions into the conversation without bringing him into it.

She shrugged. "I asked him where kids in Haven went for school trips. He didn't find the question that strange that I noticed."

"Or he did, but quickly changed the subject before you did something crazy like suggest that the Haven PD do youth outreach by volunteering as chaperones for a class trip."

Audrey got a funny look on her face before she burst out laughing. "Poor Nathan. He probably did think that I asked with something like that in mind."

"It's hard to blame the guy. He had no way of knowing that your aim was a surprise for me."

She looked guilty for moment, so he braced himself for her saying that they had to tell him that they were dating, but she didn't. There didn't seem to be much improvement on the Nathan-happiness front but she was more resolved to wait than he'd ever expected. He couldn't really see himself as the voice of reason, encouraging her to come clean with Nathan, when all of his plans for getting into the Rev's good graces only benefited from as much secrecy as possible. Duke thought that he could bring his courting of the Rev to a boil soon - just a couple more weeks of playing coy before finally agreeing to talk...

"Earth to Duke, coming Duke," her voice intoned, making him chuckle.

Okay, time to see art?" he asked.

She held the ticket at him. "Yep. And please resist the urge to try to take any home with you. I'd hate to have to conclude the evening by arresting you."

"I promise to try not to ever do anything in your presence that'd force you to arrest me."

"'Try not to'?" she repeated dryly.

Duke shrugged. "I never claimed to be perfect."

"I think it's a good thing we're both willing to settle for less than perfect," she said, holding an arm out to him.

He looped his arm through hers. "Audrey, we might not be perfect," he said seriously. "But you have to admit we are pretty awesome."

She laughed so hard that Duke had to give both of their tickets to the ticket-taker and practically drag her inside.

* * *

><p>To Audrey's delight, and relief, Duke enjoyed the art as much as she did. He hadn't taken an art history class, but he knew what he liked.<p>

"Who is that by?" he asked, looking at a piece in a postmodern exhibit. He studied it, looking for a title or plaque. "I'm pretty sure Julia did this painting in second grade." He sat on a bench in front of it, and she sat too. They both looked at the painting some more.

"Ha ha."

"Hey, she won the school art fair with it," he protested. "I didn't even get an honorable mention."

"What was the subject of your painting?" Since he had to of been nine or ten at the time, she expected him to say a dinosaur, or maybe a monster, or even a transformer.

"My dad's boat," he said quietly. "The one he'd been on..."

"Oh." She suddenly felt horrible for forcing him to dredge up the past. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," he said lightly. "It wasn't a very good painting."

"Duke..." She wasn't sure how to tell him that he didn't have to laugh it off, not with her.

He sighed. "The psychologist the school made me see liked it. According to her I was using art to work through my grief, or something."

"How long did you have to see her?" Audrey got the sense that it was something he'd long wanted to discuss but had never found someone he trusted enough to talk about it with before.

"Until I stopped insisting that he might still be alive. It was over a year between when his boat wrecked and when they finally recovered his body. So all that time I tried to convince myself..." he trailed off. "He wasn't a very good father, not even close, but I wanted him back so badly."

"That's understandable," she said, leaning her head against his shoulder. "Little kids are really attached their parents, no matter how good or bad they are. Or so I've been told."

Duke moved, and she found his brown eyes staring into her own a moment later. "This is why we need to vow not to let our pasts dictate our futures. We don't need to leave anyone who comes after us nearly in tears when they think about us. And I don't just mean kids related to either of us, either.

"I know Nathan thinks the only reason I help you both is because I like you." He stopped, smirking when she mouthed 'like' with a feigned look of dismay. "-but he's wrong. I want to leave Haven a better place than my father did. And I'm pretty sure you feel the same way about Lucy, whoever she was."

"I do," she said, standing and tugging at his hand until he got off the bench too. "But enough seriousness. There's something I want to show you downstairs."

"What?" he asked, following her to the staircase.

Halfway down the stairs she dropped her voice to a near whisper, eyeing other patrons who were walking up the stairs at the same time. "I have it on good is already that this museum houses one of, if not the, largest collection of phallic pottery in the world."

Duke stop short. "Wait. Pottery shaped like...you know?"

"No," she giggled. "More like decorated with paintings of."

"I'm not sure which is more disturbing, actually."

He let her drag him into the exhibit, and they examined the first few pieces. "Oh," he said after a couple of minutes. "They're attached to people."

"Uh, of course they are. What sort of art are you mentally comparing it to?" she asked, shooting him a concerned look.

"Um..." Duke turned a little pink. "Someone had me procure a set of fertility statues once..."

"Statues?" The corners of her mouth twitched.

"Yes." His expression dared her to make further comments, but she didn't. Instead they looked at several more pieces.

Eventually he looked at her. "Are these supposed to be intimidating, or anatomically correct? Because damn."

"I'm pretty sure the former."

"Good, 'cause otherwise this exhibit could give a guy a real complex," he said uncomfortably.

"Aww," she said sadly. "That's just terrible. I can't imagine what it would be like to see a bunch of idealized images one couldn't hope to live up to physically. No wait." She snapped her fingers. "Between magazines and the internet..."

"Point taken. And you don't have to worry about measuring up," he said sweetly. Then he pointed at one of the vases. "But look at that guy. It's like the hose to my wet/dry vac!"

"I'll tell you, Duke, most women would run screaming from a real-life Mr. wet/dry vac. There is a little too much of a good thing, and then there's 'keep that thing away from me!' Trust me, that guy'd scare his enemies but he'd be sleeping alone."

"Yeah, maybe."

"Definitely," she insisted. "You have no idea."

"Do you?" Duke asked, giving her a questioning look.

"From personal experience? Not that I know of."

That answer didn't really satisfy either one of them.

* * *

><p>They had a nice dinner, and then Audrey announced that she had one more activity in mind before they caught the train home. When he asked her what, she produced a pair of tickets that she wouldn't let him read.<p>

"I'm not sure I can get used to my girlfriend being so sneaky," he lamented as soon as she shepherded him back onto the subway.

"I know, it's awful," she said gravely. "It has to feel almost like dating...you."

Duke snorted. "Nah, when I've 'dated myself' I never even sprang for dinner and a movie. I never took me anywhere nice before bringing myself home to-"

Audrey look scandalized. "This conversation is disturbing. Let's not have it anymore."

"You're the one who brought it up," he retorted, enjoying watching her squirm. "But I'll be nice and not ask if you ever dated yourself." She socked him. "Ouch. Police brutality."

"File a report with Nathan."

"Yeah...no."

They continued to give each other a hard time about the merits of involving the Haven PD in their minor domestic disputes until Audrey told him to get off. He nearly made a clever retort before realizing that she meant that they'd arrived wherever they had been going.

"Okay...what is this?" Duke asked. They'd just entered the basement level of a nondescript building and the man who taken the tickets from Audrey had said nothing.

Audrey took his arm, leading him into a small auditorium with a stage. "We're seeing a play?" he guessed.

"No."

He thought for moment. "A magic show?" He didn't suggest a concert, because it wasn't that sort of venue.

"Nope," she said cheerfully.

"Then what?" Please don't tell me a poetry slam. The art museum was a nice change of pace, but that's all the culture I can absorb in one day."

She kissed him, which was nice even though he knew she was trying to distract him. The hell with it, he decided, knowing what was going on and dirty looks from fellow audience members both be damned. When the lights went down, Audrey pulled away from him smiling.

A young man with a microphone had magically appeared on the stage. "Welcome to tonight's improv comedy show!" There was a spat of claps and whistles. "Now our regulars know the rules, but do we have any newbies with us tonight? Show of hands." Duke raised his hand, and was a little surprised that Audrey didn't. Seven or eight of the others did. "This is an interactive show, my new friends. At times the players will demand suggestions. If you have one, yell it out."

Duke leaned down. "You've been here before," he accused.

"Yup." She put her hand on his forearm, and directed his attention to the stage.

The young MC yelled, "Let's introduce our players!"

As the show went on, Duke found himself getting into it. The first game, "questions, questions," reminded him of trying to talk to Nathan. He'd be good at it. As promised, other games required audience interaction and Duke eventually found himself yelling a few suggestions too after Audrey did first. One member of the audience kept yelling something about amorous penguins, which he found disturbing.

Toward the end of the night one of Duke's suggestions - for someone to act like they had a stick up their butt - was accepted for a game called "party quirks," where all of the guests had weird quirks that the host had to identify. Seeing someone run with his suggestion gave him a pleasant thrill.

Later, after the players had said good night, they both found themselves spilling outside with their arms hooked around each other's waists. Audrey smiled. "A guest with a stick up his rear?"

"It just came to me," he insisted innocently.

"Uh huh."

"So how did you know about this?" Duke watched as several other audience members wandered off towards other destinations. He wondered for a moment what they were up to, but then realized he didn't really care about the fun other people might have next.

"A lot of colleges do something similar, but those nonprofessional groups go by a few names like Theatersports. I think most of this troupe did this sort of thing in college themselves."

"This was a lot of fun. We should do it again sometime."

"I know. I was thinking of maybe inviting Nathan and Jess the next time."

"Would you tell them that they're on a date, or just hope that they'd work that out for themselves?" Duke asked, his eyes filled with mirth.

Audrey leaned into him. "Nathan's got no game. Even if he likes her, I'm afraid he'll never make a move. You've known him forever. When he could feel did-"

He shook his head. "He didn't lose his game, Nathan has never had a way with women. I tried to give him pointers a few times when we were getting along, but...the man's hopeless. I don't think he ever had a date that wasn't set up for him, and God knows that the Rev's daughter practically flashed him before he got the idea that she liked him. These days he needs one of those make the first move type of women like on that TV show-"

"Sex and the City?"

"Probably. Elsewise, he's going nowhere, ever."

"Maybe we should do an eHarmony profile for him."

"Oh, he'd love that." Duke's eyes gleamed excitedly. "Can I fill it out? Can I?"

"Uh...no."

"Awww." He pouted. "We really do have to help the guy out."

"Yeah, we do."

He pulled her closer. "It'd be nice to see what he's like in love. It's done wonders for me, after all."

It was too dark for him to catch the slightly uneasy look in her eyes before she smiled up at him. "It'd be nice to see him happy."

* * *

><p><em>an: so now that you've had a nice big serving of fic, how about you feed your authors? =)_


	9. The Disturbance

The constant white noise of the sea was soothing to Nathan. The sea never demanded anything more than he chose to give it. With so many people washing up on shore dead, and no answers as to who they were, how they got there, or even when they died, he took solace in the sea's constancy. The tides came in and went out, then came back in again. It was something normal in this highly abnormal town.

He was sitting on his favorite bench overlooking a small section of the harbor, where the water ran still and calm. The quiet susurration of the grass behind him warned him that someone was approaching. The lilac perfume that eddied around him told him it was Jess. She sat down beside him.

Nathan debated moving to the end of the bench, then decided it was a juvenile reaction to the French woman's presence. Together they watched the waves in silence. Eventually he broke the silence with a quiet, "Hi."

Jess nodded. "Hello, Nathan." She sat back against the bench. "It's a beautiful day."

"It's barely started." Nathan's low voice did more to convey his feelings that the day would be anything but beautiful than his three word sentence.

The dark-haired woman turned to the detective. "Nathan, give it time before you decide it will be bad. You don't know..."

A strident beeping rudely interrupted Jess. It was followed by Laverne's whiskey-flavored voice. "Nathan, hun, something's going up at Mildmay drive."

He pressed the button to transmit, looking resignedly at Jess before turning his attention to his dispatcher. "What's going on?" Nathan asked Laverne.

"The monitoring service that tracks those anklets is reported several out of bounds incidents in the last three hours on Mildmay."

Nathan's brow furrowed. "Laverne, there's no one that lives on Mildmay that has a monitoring anklet. I don't think that there's even anyone living there yet. I thought the development wasn't open for another three months."

"That's what I told the monitoring service. They insist that they're getting the reports and that it's backed up by GPS data." Laverne seemed as bewildered as Nathan was.

"All right, I'll look into it." He dropped the radio back into his pocket and got up from his bench. Jess watched him, an echo of sorrow in her eyes. This town wasn't easy to live in. Idly, Nathan wondered how long she would stick around this time, then cut himself off. He wasn't going to remember drinking coffee that seemed more candy with her on this bench, watching the sun rise over the water, either.

"Bye," he said abruptly, not giving her time to react before he drew himself to his feet and dusted off the back of his thighs, then wandered back to the Bronco. Jess was still sitting there, looking slightly forlorn, as he drove off.

* * *

><p>He cleared his mind as he drove over to Mildmay. It was a new development, one with a very ugly housing layout. The owners claimed it was allowing more open space for wildlife, if they stacked the houses kitty corner to each other, but the layout left the houses close enough together that people would be able to lean out the windows to shake hands with each other. Privately, most of the Havenites thought it was an excuse until the development company could get the zoning laws changed to allow them to stack even more houses in the lots. It didn't make for an attractive street layout.<p>

There were six houses built on the lots on Mildmay, one was the show home. The other five were to Nathan's best knowledge still empty and costing the developer a small fortune to maintain. As he drove along, though, it appeared that at least two of the houses had been occupied. One had a bunch of flags dotted around the front yard that arched backwards to the next kitty cornered house, then disappeared somewhere behind them both. There was an old Subaru in the driveway that had quite clearly seen better days.

One house up from where the flags and the Subaru took up residence had a blue, mint condition, 1957 Chevy peeking out of a half closed garage door. Looking into the windows of both homes showed them to be furnished, and littered with the debris of life. Nathan knocked on the door of the home that the security service reported as having the house arrest. There was no answer. Nathan tried the door and it pushed open. He the door opened on to a scene of overturned tables and chairs. He grabbed his cell and called Audrey. This was more than a flaky security company.

"What's up, Nathan?" She sounded tired, like he had just woken her up. If he had, she was running late.

"Monitoring service reported a boundary infraction on Mildmay. I went over to investigate and it looks like there's been a break-in." Nathan didn't enter the house, instead walking briskly back to the truck to get his radio to call over a couple of patrol units. He'd left it on the dash of the truck.

"Be there in five." The phone went dead in his hand. The Gull was only about two miles away, so her time estimate could have been right for once, if she didn't get lost.

She proved true to her word when she pulled up four and a half minutes later, her hair was still mussed from bed. She got out of the car and straightened up her blouse, which had gotten buttoned askew. She'd even beaten the patrol cops.

Together she and Nathan entered the house with guns drawn. Nathan took the upstairs and she the first level. The signs of struggle were concentrated in the main living room area. The rest of the house was undisturbed Nathan noted as he came down a back stairwell into the kitchen. He met Audrey there. Together they holstered their guns.

'Oh, sugar, oh honey honey!' caroled out joyfully. Nathan grabbed his cell phone. "What's up, Laverne?" He glared at Audrey who was quietly giggling over the ring tone.

"Security service is saying the signal's still about 100 feet outside its boundary. The alarm's still going off. It's an odd one though, sugar. Service said that for a while it was going off and then it'd stop, then go off again, but it was generally in the same location each time. There's no record of the kid walking off the property. His signal just shows up 100 yards away."

"Laverne, they tell you what this guy is under house arrest for?" he asked, assuming that she was calling the house arrestee "a kid" much the way she occasionally did himself and Audrey both. While he waited for her reply, Nathan moved back through the house with Audrey at his heels.

He could hear paper rustle on the other end of the line. "Says here he assaulted a teacher. Earned three months of house arrest because he's a still a minor until next year."

"Great," he replied, dryly, and then hung up as two officers reached the front door.

Nathan judged the distances between the home and things that surrounded it. Within 100 feet, there was the other occupied house, and an empty foundation. A quick jog over to the foundation hole didn't reveal and one in it.

He headed over to the house and saw Stan and his partner pull up. He motioned to the house and together the four officers headed toward the modestly maintained domicile. Audrey and Nathan went into the front room, and Stan and Dave went to the back of the house.

* * *

><p>The main floor of the second house was clear, and there didn't appear to be anyone at home. Stan and Dave reported that the second floor was also clear, with no signs of activity. The four officers reconvened in the foyer. Stan and Dave stayed on the main floor as Audrey and Nathan descended into the kitchen. There was a chemically astringent smell in the air the lower they went in the building, and bright rectangles of light from the basement windows revealed what could have been a misplaced operating theater or mortuary.<p>

Audrey and Nathan quickly glanced around the room, and Audrey motioned to another door, one that had a broom leaning up against it. There were faint noises coming from the other side of it. Nathan picked up the broom, which had sturdily wedged itself between some cabinets and the door handle, making it impossible for anyone to open the door.

The minute the obstruction was clear, the door burst open and a soaking wet seventeen-year-old boy and his forty-something mother flew out. They didn't even seem to notice the cops they had just passed in their desperate flight, instead just running hell for leather up to the basement door.

Behind them came a wild-eyed man with a hatchet. Nathan pulled out his service pistol and blocked the door. "I will shoot," he warned.

The man skidded to a stop, fortunately before he ran into Nathan with the hatchet. "Officer Wournos, so nice to see you. That boy broke into my house again. He's deranged. You really need to stop him and get him some help."

Audrey came up behind Nathan. The story might have worked if it weren't for the fact that a peculiar air of rot and decay had been rolling down the hallway, growing more noxious as the man approached. And if he hadn't been covered by what was obviously blood.

"Sir, if you will just come with us, I'm sure we can sort this all out," Audrey tried to soothe the man. She took his arm as Nathan walked down the hallway, wishing he had something to cover the hideous odor with.

"No! You can't go back there, it's not safe!" Unfortunately, lunging at an officer of the law, who held a loaded weapon when you are armed with a hatchet was not a good idea, as the mystery man soon found out. There was a sharp crack and he fell to the floor with a bullet through his shoulder. Audrey kept her weapon on the man and called up the stairs to have Stan radio for paramedics.

Nathan looked back, assuring himself that Audrey had the situation well under control, and continued down the corridor. It seemed to go on forever, and may even have been long enough to have continued under the foundations of the next house on the street. It certainly continued to descend downward.

Several extension cords lined the ceiling and must have been what was providing the power for the dim lights at the other end of the tunnel. At the end he found a hollowed out room with what looked like pallets on the floor. As he approached, he realized that one of the pallets had broken through. He leaned out over the pallet and looked down in what appeared to be a hole, half filled with water. That certainly explained why the kid was soaking wet.

In the dim light cast by the electric bulb's filament he found something even more disturbing. In the hole appeared to be a human arm. He leaned out to the next pallet and lifted it up and looked down. There was a woman's naked and decaying body. She had obviously been dead a while judging from the state her body was in. He continued along and found ten such holes, seven of which had victims of some sort in them. The remaining three were mercifully empty, although because their occupants had rotted away so far that there was nothing above the water anymore or because they had never been filled, Nathan couldn't tell.

Strangely enough, after he had gotten over the shock of seeing the bodies, his next thought was that this would absolutely ruin the well water for the development. It would probably put a damper on the developer's house sales, too.

Nathan stalked back up the tunnel and found that in the time it had taken him to investigate the hidden room, the paramedics had arrived and were carting off the mystery man. Nathan stopped them and had Stan and Dave accompany them back to the hospital. He somehow doubted the kid and his mother had broken into this guy's house and had dug out this secret tunnel and started committing murders and hiding the bodies in the basement. The guy would have noticed it long before today.

Upstairs Audrey was speaking softly to the woman and the boy, who had been wrapped up in thick wool blankets. The boy had mentioned that he'd tried to tell people he thought the guy next door was a serial killer, but no one had listened to him. He'd broken into the house when he saw his mother go over, and she hadn't returned. He named the mystery man Mr. Withers, and said that they guy had lived here for about three years. The boy and his mother had lived here for about five years, according to the boy.

"Excuse me, but I need to speak with Officer Parker." Nathan looked at Audrey significantly, and then the two of the retreated to the far side of the room. "Audrey, five years ago this was nothing but forest land. There was nothing here. They have to be lying."

"Why would they do that? It doesn't make any sense." Audrey looked puzzled but this latest turn of events.

It wasn't that she doubted that Mr. Withers was a decidedly un-savory character because there was ample proof of that in his secret tunnel. Neither doubted that the man had killed those girls that even now the coroner was removing from their watery cells. The time frames just didn't make any sense.

The two walked back over to Mrs. Haversham and her son. "Do you have a record of how long you've been here? We need to know so that we can verify your residency. It's unfortunately a requirement for the paperwork," Audrey spoke kindly to the two, and Mrs. Haversham seemed to believe her white lie.

The older woman got up and went to a closet, carefully extracting a heavy steel lock box. She brought it over to the kitchen counter and set it down. The key to the lock box was in the lock, so she just turned it and opened it. Inside was a small collection of official paperwork. Her son's birth certificate, dated 17 years and some months previously, issued from Haven Regional Hospital. A Mr. Trevor Haversham's death certificate indicated that the woman had lost her husband a year prior surfaced and something about that triggered Nathan's subconscious. Whatever it was quickly was lost though, as five years of house insurance paperwork and eventually a mortgage agreement were dug up.

Nathan and Audrey blinked at one another, and nodded. They requested copies of the purchase and sale agreement, as well as the son's birth certificate. Mr. Haversham nodded, then went into her late husband's home office and made copies of the documents for the two officers. When she had returned, the two detectives took both of their statements.

* * *

><p>Audrey chewed the edge of her nail as she read through the paperwork again. "I don't get it Nathan, people can't just appear out of thin air, but it looks like these two did. The bank has a record of the house sale years before it ever existed, but the developer thinks it's empty. The hospital has the kid's birth certificate, but no records of his mother ever being admitted to give birth to him. The father doesn't exist outside of his death certificate. There are no credit card charges, no cell phone bills, and the utility bills don't indicate that anyone has lived there and swears there was no electricity there five years ago. It's like they just stepped out of here from nowhere."<p>

The once and future chief shrugged. "Sure they aren't relatives of yours?"

Audrey glared at him, hit him, and then quietly laughed. "Maybe I was the forerunner of some alien invasion party. My people have come to take over Haven."

"So long as we don't have mist cover the town with giant alien bugs hiding in it, I'm ok. I could live with an army of you, Might be happily conquered," Nathan replied, theatrically rubbing his arm where she hit him.

She rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you. Has anything like this, other than me or Lucy, ever happened before, that you know of?"

"No."

Audrey paced back and forth in the small office. "How do we even tell them that until yesterday they didn't even seem to exist?"

Nathan got up from behind his desk and perched on the edge. "I don't think we do. They think they remember living here their entire life. You learned differently. Do you think they need the stress of knowing that their entire life has been a lie on top of almost being some serial killer's next set of victims? Has knowing that you are not Audrey Parker done anything but make you upset?"

"They have the right to know the truth, Nathan." She turned and glared at him.

He met her eyes calmly. "I agree, and I think if they ever ask, we should tell them. However, let them come to the realization that they may not be who they think they are. You fought to know the truth. Let them learn it if THEY choose. You can't take that choice away from them."

"You don't know what it's like, not knowing who you are," she said, shaking her head.

"No, I don't. I know what it's like to have everything you thought you knew about your father pulled out from underneath you. I'd have rather not have learned Max is my father. But now I know that the man who raised me wasn't my blood. And I do think I'm a better man because he raised me. Sometimes the illusion can be more important than the reality." Nathan sighed. "Tell them if you feel you absolutely have to, but I would let them discover the truth for themselves, if they choose to."

Audrey closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Maybe you're right. But someone's bound to notice eventually that these two claim to have been here for that long and have never been seen."

Nathan pushed off of the desk. "Glendowers," he said in passing.

Audrey cursed internally, remembering how much of the town didn't know about the reclusive clan living on the outskirts of town.

* * *

><p>That Night<p>

Duke was shirtless in the galley of Cape Rouge, and Audrey was enjoying it. He was pulling something out of the oven that looked like a quiche.

She had learned that Duke was selectively vegetarian. He wouldn't seek out meat, but he also wouldn't turn it down if he was offered it. He never turned down eggs or cheese, or fish for that matter. She had once teased him about it, given that Buddhists were supposed to honor all life. He had replied with some teaching that went over her head, and he'd never been able to explain it to her beyond that all things shared the same soul, thus eating one manifestation of the soul given that he was another manifestation of the same soul shouldn't count against his karmic debt. He pointed out not all Buddhists needed to be vegetarian, and that there were rules about eating meat that he did follow. She almost believed it until he also added everyone needed a flaw to work on to teach them compassion to themselves and to others. Of course, he then told her that there were no souls immediately after. It had left her very confused.

"I thought real men didn't eat quiche?" she inquired.

Dark eyes crinkled at her. "Buddha says..."

Those dark eyes of his blinked as a dinner roll bounced off the stretch forehead above them. "I told you that to quote the Buddha at me any more would lead to suffering."

"Yeah, but I thought you meant yours, not mine. I'm trying to be compassionate and lift you out into your awakening." Duke grinned at her as he put down the quiche on the table between them. He cut them each a piece and served it with a dark red wine that looked older than both their ages put together.

"If you show me anymore 'compassion,' I won't show you any tonight," she threatened.

Duke immediately shut up and ate his quiche slice. She'd finally found a way to quiet the loquacious man.

They ate together in companionable silence and cleaned up the dishes. She couldn't help but notice the number of times he "accidentally" bumped into her while he washed the dishes. At one point he caged her between the sink and his body, insisting that she was in his way. She didn't want to admit how nice it was to be trapped between Duke's smooth chest and his arms. Still, she couldn't let him have her without a bit of a fight.

She ducked under his arms and rolled her towel into a lethal whip. "Watch it, Mister. I have a weapon and I know how to use it."

Duke held up his soapy hands in surrender. "Officer Parker..." He flipped soap on her hair.

She whipped the towel at him and he yelped. "Police Brutality! Help, Somebody. Anybody!"

Audrey laughed. "You assaulted me, Mr. Crocker. I'm going to have to take you in."

Duke walked up to her and embraced her with his foam covered hands. "So long as you are taking me into the bedroom."

He leaned down and kissed her deeply enough to make her toes curl. She thought that he'd never made a better suggestion.

* * *

><p>Some time later the two of they lay in the old bed on Cape Rouge, listening to the sound of the harbor. Audrey was nestled into Duke's arm, and he was using his free one to run his hand down her side. The physical distractions couldn't keep her mind from returning to the Havershams though.<p>

Duke noticed he was no longer the center of her attention and stopped caressing her. "What's the matter, Officer-Agent Parker?"

She propped herself up on an elbow, and looked down at her captain. "We meant people today who weren't real. They thought they were, but they aren't, at least not more than superficially."

Duke raised both eyebrows. "Yesterday upon the stair I met a man that wasn't there?"

"What?" Audrey tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

"'Yesterday upon the stair I met a man that wasn't there. He wasn't there again today, I wish, I wish he'd go away.' Is that the kind of not real people you found?" Duke brought his hand up to cup her face teasing loose the hair she had just gotten out of her face so that it fell back down.

Audrey removed his hand and put her hair back up. "No, they are real people. I spoke to them. The kid has enough records to show he actually should exist, but there's virtually nothing on the mother or the father."

Duke considered for a moment. "Maybe they are witnesses the FBI is hiding in witness protection?"

"No, they wouldn't have done such a bad job forging the records. It's like all the records that should exist don't, and yet they bought a house four years before it was built." Audrey sighed. "Nathan asked me if they were my relatives. Hell, what if they are and I don't know anything about it. Sometimes I don't know anything about myself. Maybe it's my older sister and my nephew. I wanted to tell them but Nathan was pretty forceful that he didn't think it was a good idea. How can you know yourself, though, if you don't know who you really are?"

Duke snorted. "I think you put too much weight on knowing on knowing the truth. I can tell you all the truths you need to know."

Audrey pulled away and started to get out of the bed. "I swear Duke if you start quoting the four Noble Truths at me."

He pulled her back down on top of him. "No, Audrey. You want the truth? I don't care what name you carried when. I don't care that 27 years ago you were here. I care that you are here now. The woman I just had fantastic sex with is smart, funny, kind, and almost too good to be true. She lives the definition of duty and responsibility. She makes me want to grow old with her. However she's chained herself to some idea that she's not real herself. I wish she'd realize that she is amazing no mater what she calls herself, or whose memory she has. She's my friend, and I love her. That is my truth."

Audrey pushed up against his arm. "You don't understand what it's like!"

"I understand that I know who my mother and father were, and I am not them. My father was a drunken sot and my mother didn't have the good sense to leave him when she should have. Together they made me, but I am not the sum of their parts and mental hang ups. You may be some angel come to save us all, or you may be just some troubled resident yourself. I've said it before, your past doesn't have to define you." Duke grinned crookedly up at her. "And that is the official word of Haven's official former pirate and current restaurant owner telling you that. Learn to let go of the past and you may be happier."

"You would just forget everything?" Audrey stared in clear disbelief.

"No, I would learn from it and try not to make the same mistakes if I ever figure out what happened here myself. But we don't have to be defined by it." He pushed himself up and kissed her. She pulled away, looking unhappy with him.

"I think we'll just have to agree to disagree on that point," she said irritably.

"Audrey, come on," Duke cajoled when she began to gather up her clothes.

Ignoring him, she left Cape Rouge before anyone could wonder what she was doing with Duke.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile<p>

Once a week, Nathan drove over to his father's empty house and walked through it, checking to make sure that everything was in good repair and that no one had vandalized the home or the property. A year earlier he wouldn't have ever thought that anyone might have the nerve to mess the house but things have been getting uglier in Haven over the past few months. He knew that the Rev was stirring things up still, but the man had the right to say what he wanted given that the first amendment applied equally to the meek and the irksome, so there was little he could do about it.

He slammed the door as he left, sighing. Audrey had asked him a few times if he planned to sell the place, or maybe move in, and even Duke had once asked him something similar. But he had no answers for either of them. It was impossible to put his feelings for the house into words, or to explain why was compelled to leave it just as Garland had left it.

After he left, he found himself driving aimlessly through town. He managed to pass by the Cape Rouge just in time to see Audrey and Duke wander out onto the deck. Nathan's windows were up, so he couldn't hear them, but their expressions were decidedly unhappy. Audrey had an overnight bag stuffed under her arm, and Duke was gesturing towards the cabin, clearly trying to talk her into going back inside.

Scowling, Nathan drove off. Neither of them had yet said a word to them about their relationship, and he didn't feel the need to know the details.

* * *

><p>The next day, however, Nathan found himself dwelling on Audrey's secret fling because she was a foul mood. Audrey started the morning off by reading Stan the riot act for not refilling the coffee pot, and the rest of the morning went little better.<p>

She'd been snappy on the phone with someone, then slammed it down. Turning to him she said, "Can you believe how uncooperative some people are? I'm going to go over there right now."

Nathan knew that he shouldn't let her go terrorize her victim, but it was a relief to have her out of the office, so he said nothing. Besides, her not being there would make meeting with Dwight easier.

"See you," he said mildly.

"Later," she muttered, practically stomping out the door.

He watched her brush past Laverne without saying anything, and found himself wishing that she hadn't brought her baggage to work. _What is she even doing with Duke if he doesn't make her happy?_ he wondered darkly. Sometimes he thought that she threw obstacles up in her own way just so she'd have something to overcome.

"Hey," a voice said, making him glance up. Dwight gave him a wary look before closing the door behind himself. "You said you had a few questions for me?"

"Yep."

"Of...an official nature?" he asked cautiously.

"No. More of a 'you've got useful connections I don't' nature," Nathan said dryly. He should have been more specific in his voice mail message because it was clear that Dwight had taken the call as a summons from the police, not as a request for a friendly chat. It made him wonder briefly what he'd been up to, until he concluded that he really would rather not know.

The other man relaxed visibly. "What can I do for you?"

Nathan waved him over to Audrey's chair, and waited for him to sit. "I was hoping that you could recommend a private investigator."

Dwight looked puzzled. "What for?"

"I need someone found."

"But you're a cop," Dwight protested. "Isn't finding people something you're already adept at doing yourself?"

Nathan scowled. "In case you haven't noticed, I've been busy with everything in Haven. Even if I could find her, I don't have time to look. I barely have time to sleep at night."

"Her?" Dwight asked expectantly.

Nathan waved a hand. "You don't know the details."

"All right. I don't know a PI, but I'm sure that I can get you a recommendation for one."

"Good. Soon?"

"Pretty soon."

"I owe you one."

Dwight's mouth quirked into a frown. "You dad used to say the same thing. I never did collect on it."

"From me you will," Nathan said firmly. "I'm not going anywhere."

The look the big blond gave him was only slightly dubious, which Nathan considered a win. At least no one seemed to think that he might go to pieces, literally, like his father. That had to count for something.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile...<p>

As she sulkily made her way outside, Audrey tried to reason herself out of her black mood, maybe by forcing herself not to dwell on how maddeningly inconsistent Duke could be; but how could the man who had once insightfully asked her if she empathized with the doomed copy of a troubled person turn around and suggest that having a past, a real past, hardly mattered? Frustration with his attitude was what had darkened her mood into one of those terrible ones that seldom gripped her, not even when she was struck by PMS, and she could barely stand to be around herself...let alone the people she realized that she was taking her temper out on. She'd have to find a way to make it up to Stan and Nathan but she wasn't sure what the appropriate peace offering for acting like an ogre was.

Since her thoughts were so focused on her ill behavior, she already had her hand on her newly returned car's door handle before she realized that her car had been disturbed in her absence: a white paper bag stood upright on the driver's seat.

If she had been in Boston, she would have worried that it was a trap. But since it was Haven, she assumed that Duke had let himself into her car because she'd allowed him and Nathan to both have copies of the keys. Those copies had been made just after she'd woken up inside a box on Carpenter's Knot. The vague fear of being locked in an entirely different sort of truck had prompted her actions.

Reaching into the bag, she was only slightly surprised to feel a plastic container. Even by feel she could tell that it was from her favorite bakery. Nestled inside were half a dozen chocolate cupcakes with dark purple frosting and what appeared to be bats with four wings. Clearly whoever had decorated them was new, but it was a nice thought anyway.

There was a folded over piece of paper taped to the cupcakes. The outside was merely marked with her name, so she had to unfold it to read the message. It said, "Buddha says apologies to one's girl are necessary after being insufferably dismissive of different view points. Love you."

"Score one for Buddha, finally," Audrey mumbled to herself. She reached for the box of cupcakes with a smile. The box popped open with a squeak.

She unwrapped one of the cupcakes and took a big bite. Instantly, she began to feel a little more human. Though she couldn't have told anyone if it was because of the sugar rush, or the sweet gesture.

Either way, it put their minor tiff into perspective, and she vowed to call Duke to thank him after she went to speak to the person she no longer planned to yell at. Just as soon as she picked up lunch for Stan and Nathan.

* * *

><p><em>an: all inquires as to what a "whiskey-flavored voice" is should be directed to Faerax_


	10. Stormy Weather

The Grey Gull  
>September 23rd, 2011<p>

A banner strung above the Gull's door declared that it was "Fall Fest!" in large letters, and underneath in smaller wording was a statement about all well drinks being $3 each for the event. It was likely the latter that explained why there were people packed into the entire restaurant than the desire to celebrate the first day of autumn.

Duke hadn't officially scheduled himself to work during the party, but was occasionally giving the bartender a hand until he and Audrey decided to leave. He was in the middle of pouring shots when she slipped behind the counter with him. Grinning, he said, "You know, anyone else who tried this would be out on their ear."

"Well, dating the owner comes with perks," she shot back.

"Does it?" he asked archly.

"It-" She stopped talking suddenly, eyes on the far end of the room. "Nathan?"

He followed her glance and saw a familiar figure lurking about as far away from the bar as possible. Nathan held a beer in one hand, and seemed to be talking to someone. "Huh. I can't believe we didn't see him come in."

"He can be sneaky like that," Audrey replied easily. "Scares the hell out of suspects sometimes."

"I can imagine," Duke replied drolly.

* * *

><p>After people steadily streamed in over the next half an hour, Duke scanned the size of the crowd before leaning towards Audrey. "You wouldn't happen to have an in with the fire chief, would you? We're under the occupancy limit now, but..."<p>

"Sorry. Maybe you'll have to switch to bouncer to thin the herd."

"Ha."

"So," a slightly accented voice asked, "do you plan to make Fall Fest a yearly event?"

Before Duke could reply, Audrey went around the counter and gave Jess a hug. Duke was a little surprised by that affectionate gesture until he realized that she'd caged at least a couple of drinks herself while behind the counter with him. As he studied her enthusiastic greeting, he upped his estimation to three. Maybe four.

Setting down the bottle he'd been holding, Duke followed her around the bar. "Hey, Jess. I hadn't decided, but it looks like it might be a good idea."

"It looks like half of Haven is here," Jess remarked.

"Everyone loves Duke," Audrey said seriously. She pressed herself against his chest and the front of his thighs when he wrapped his arms around her from behind. "Except Nathan."

Jess looked around expectantly. "He's not here, is he?"

"Actually, he's over there." Audrey pointed vaguely.

"I think I'll go talk to him," Jess said brightly.

Before she could move, Nathan noticed them standing before the bar and stalked towards them. It was Duke's assumption that he was coming over to speak to Jess, which is why he was in shock when Nathan reached over Audrey's shoulder and grabbed his shirt. "Did you forget to pretend tonight?"

"Wha?" Duke started to ask before he realized exactly when Nathan meant. He and Audrey had somehow forgotten not to act like a couple when they knew they were in his line of sight. He mentally kicked himself; Audrey had been drinking and therefore careless but he himself had no such excuse to explain it away.

Audrey squirmed out of Duke's arms, drew herself up to her full height such as it was, and pointed a finger at her belligerent partner. "Nathan, back off."

"No," Nathan snapped. "What is wrong with you? You're one of the smartest women I know, but you've always had such a **blind spot** when it has come to him. How am I supposed to just stand here and accept it when you seem to have no idea that he's just using you?"

"Wait, hey," Duke protested, holding his hands up. "I'm not using anyone."

"This is exactly why we didn't tell you," Audrey hissed. "I knew you'd overreact."

"I'm only overreacting because you've been hiding this for weeks," Nathan shot back hotly.

"Jesus, Nathan, did you bug her apartment or something?" Duke asked, disgusted.

"No." Audrey spun towards Nathan. "How did you-"

"The night he came back your door was unlocked and I saw you. Saw you under him," he spat out.

Duke grabbed Audrey's arm before she could punch Nathan. Whatever she was planning had been meant to hurt, he could that tell from how the muscles of her arm felt in his grasp. She yelled at Nathan anyway, though. "You spied on us. God dammit, Nathan, why don't you get a life of your own and let me live mine?"

"You want me to have a life of my own? Fine." To everyone's surprise, probably Jess's most of all, Nathan leaned over and kissed her. At first it seemed like she wasn't upset, but then Nathan groped her behind.

A loud crack rent the air, and Nathan put his hand to his cheek. Jess stared at him, breathing hard.

"That's it," Duke declared, pushing past both women and yanking Nathan to the door. "You're out of here. Yelling at me is one thing, but I'm not standing for you molesting my other customers."

"I'm gone," Nathan muttered, stalking off.

"Jess, are you okay?" Duke asked as he rejoined her and Audrey.

"I'm okay. I think I'm going to check on him."

"Wait, do you think that's a good idea?"

She patted Duke's arm. "I'm a big girl. And I have pepper spray."

After she walked out, Audrey looked at Duke and giggled. "I guess that cat's out of the bag."

Shaking his head, he smiled at her. "Somehow, I was excepting worse."

"Duke, how could it have been worse?" Audrey gapped at him.

"I had something with a horse head in mind."

Crisis passed, they squeezed back behind the bar and he helped the beleaguered bar tender fill drink orders. Practically the whole bar had stopped drinking to watch the spontaneous live entertainment they'd provided, but now the orders were piling up.

As Duke scanned the room, he was relieved that he didn't notice anyone who was loyal to the Rev in the crowd. Someone had told him that most of his followers were teetotalers who took the Rev's hypocritical admonishments against the evils of alcohol to heart, but it had been hard for him to believe considering the popularity of drinking as a pastime in Maine. But no one who was likely to report to the Rev had been there to witness the blow up, so he felt grateful.

* * *

><p>If there was one thing that Nathan was glad about, it was that the cool night air cleared his head a little. What he'd just done was very stupid, and he could only blame the drinks he'd downed a little for the outburst. More of the blame lay in allowing the knowledge to eat at him for weeks. No wonder he'd finally exploded.<p>

"Nathan?" a voice behind him called.

His first impulse was to walk faster, but if he knew Jess Minion at all, he knew that tucking his chin in and upping his pace would only strengthen her resolve to talk to him. So, against his better judgment, he stopped.

"I'm sorry," Nathan said as he turned to face her.

"For?" she asked pointedly.

Flustered, he flapped a hand ineffectually. "Everything?" he ventured. In all honesty he wasn't in fact sorry for kissing her because it had almost been a good kiss. Had been, at least until he'd grabbed her butt and freaked her out.

Jess sighed. "I'm not mad that you kissed me, Nathan. I'm mad that you did it to make a point."

"I..."

"For someone spouting off about using people, maybe you should look in the mirror yourself."

He winced. "I deserve that. And I really am sorry."

Some of the anger drained from her expression. "And I'm sorry I slapped you."

"I deserved that too."

She tilted her head. "And you felt it," she remarked. "I know you did. Is your trouble...gone?"

"No," Nathan said quickly. "But you're right. I did feel it."

"How is that possible?"

"I don't know. I never figured out why I can feel Audrey, either. I guess you're both special," he said, giving her what he hoped was an endearing smile. It must have been because she no longer looked mad at all. "Do you think we can start over? Friends?"

"Friends," she agreed. "Now let's make sure you get home all right. Where were you walking to, anyway? You don't live anywhere near here."

Nathan looked around, really noticing where he was for the first time. "Uh...I have no idea where I was going."

Shaking her head, Jess looped an arm through his and pointed him in the right direction so they could get her car. He knew without asking that he'd have to get someone to bring him to his truck in the morning, and Audrey wasn't on the short list of people he thought he could hit up for that ride. He could only hope that she was half as forgiving as Jess was.

* * *

><p>Tuesday<p>

Audrey walked in to find Nathan had the office window cracked open. A slight breeze was coming through it, stirring the papers on both of their desks. Nathan himself was oblivious to the cresting chorus, staring intently at a report on his desk. He had the oddest expression on his face: a mixture of resignation, and yet a little bit of hope, tempered with bitter satisfaction.

"What's up, Nathan?" she asked as she entered the office. She caught an errant report as it tried to escape out of the door on the wind's back.

"Fishing Museum had a break in." Nathan didn't make eye contact with her, continuing to stare intently down at what must have been the police report for the incident.

Audrey tried to crane her head to see the report, but wasn't succeeding to well, largely because Nathan had picked up the report and seemed to be trying to hide it from her. They danced around each other for a few minutes, Audrey trying to see the report, and Nathan seemingly deliberately keeping it from her.

Finally Audrey rolled her eyes and went to her desk. "Nathan, what is the big deal with a break-in at the Fishing Museum. Did someone steal the town's first net or something?"

"No. The Museum had a rather large scrimshaw collection, donated over a long period of time by the children of whalers that used to live on the coast. Some of those pieces are worth thousands of dollars. Someone broke in, cherry picked the ones worth the most, and then broke out again." Nathan turned to look at Audrey significantly.

Audrey returned his significant look with one involving a well-arched eyebrow. "Ok, so I can see that being a big thing. Are there any suspects?"

Nathan consulted his report. "Yes."

"Do I get to find out who they are?" Audrey was growing increasingly frustrated with Nathan's game of cat and mouse.

The other officer considered it for a moment. "I'm pretty sure you don't want to know."

That was all the information Audrey needed to draw the conclusion. Nathan was right. She really didn't want to know. She sighed. "Why is Duke one of the suspects, other than for some reason everyone thinks he is a thief?"

Nathan did his little boy shuffle. "Duke isn't one of the suspects. He's the only suspect. And it's because he visited the fishing museum three times last week. One of the pieces that was stolen was one he had been seen taking a considerable interest in."

"Maybe he just likes to go to museums?" Audrey asked, hopeful. She thought about adding that they'd gone to an art museum recently, but decided that it wouldn't help.

Nathan shook his head. "No. Before the scrimshaw exhibit opened, he'd never gone according to the curator, who is also the head ticket taker, and has been for 20 years."

"Great." Audrey looked up the heavens, trying to see them through the ceiling. She knew a relationship with someone that lived in the gray space of the law wasn't going to be easy, and that she was going to have to decide if she was going to turn a blind eye to his activities or not, but she really wasn't expecting it to be so soon. Why had he done this? Wasn't the restaurant enough for him?

She had suspected that Duke had never really turned to the straight and narrow. His roguish nature just wouldn't ever allow him to be on the path too long. In the year that she'd known the man, she knew he had a problem with authority, but still, she had hoped that maybe the "thrill of the hunt" that seemed to drive him would be satiated when he caught her.

Nathan looked rather apologetic as he told her, "I'm trying to get a warrant to search Cape Rouge and the Gull for the missing pieces. I have to act now because we can't give him too much time to fence the things, or get them somewhere they can be stored until the case is marked cold."

"Let me try talking to him, Nathan," Audrey pleaded.

A gust of wind whipped through the office and set the mountain of paperwork on Nathan's desk in a dervish's whirlwind. Silence reigned for a few moments while he considered her request and the two of them gathered the scattered documentation.

After the strays had been corralled and returned to their point of origin, now with a paperweight, the once and future chief turned to his partner. "If he confesses, you have to bring him in. If you find the pieces, you have to bring him in. There is no hiding this. He is not troubled, and we can't fake reports to say he's not guilty."

Audrey nodded. "I know my duty, Nathan. My responsibility comes before my relationships. Let me at least try. You know that the courts will go easier on him if he turns over the things on his own."

"I'll have the warrant by four," he told her.

* * *

><p>Audrey choked the life out of her steering wheel. Duke wouldn't betray her like that, would he? He seemed to be one of Haven's more colorful characters, and certainly he had a past, but he had too much to lose now, didn't he? Duke seemed to enjoy running the Gull, and had seemed far more stable than so may others of Haven's residents. While he had changed a bit when Evi showed up, and slightly more after she died, Audrey had seen nothing to indicate theft had become an active part of Duke's life. Still, Audrey had little clue as to how he spent his time when he wasn't at the Gull or with her.<p>

She listened to the repetitive thuds as her tires carried her over the dock, down to Cape Rouge's pilot house. Audrey tried to use the sound to drive away the thought that Duke could unfaithful to her in this way. He had seemed to understand so well that her work, her duty, her responsibilities to everyone in this town had to come first. Surely he didn't think that their relationship would shield him.

The blonde detective reluctantly boarded Cape Rouge as the wind tossed her hair around. It had picked up even more since earlier in Nathan's office. So much for the clear afternoon that the weathermen had predicted.

It took a while, whether because the ship was big or Audrey was delaying this conversation, she wasn't sure, but she found Duke in the ship's engine room. He was covered in sweat and oil, and actively swearing at a nut he couldn't get tight or maybe loose.

"Hi, Duke."

"Hey, Audrey. What are you doing down here? I thought you were on duty with Nathan today." Duke let go of the wrench, and it hung on to the bolt.

Audrey walked a couple of steps closer. She hadn't seen the engine room up close before, and she wondered about all the tubes and valves it contained. Idly she wondered how many times Duke had brained himself on some piping given that at least one small white washed tube was clearly labeled "DUCK!". "Oh, Nathan wanted to look into something. I thought I'd ask if you knew anything about it, and well, after the scene at the Gull the other day..."

Duke snorted. "You got nominated, right. What is it?"

"There was a break-in at the Fishing Museum." Audrey stared at the decking below her feet.

Duke leaned up against his stuck wrench. "What was taken?" he asked, wary but curious.

Audrey mirrored the pose, leaning up against some thing she thought might have been a giant piston case. "Artwork."

Duke looked even more wary than he had previously. "And?"

"And we were wondering if you had heard anything about it." Audrey met his eyes.

Duke snorted, and then his expression turned cold when the full impact of her inquiry hit him. "No, Audrey. I didn't know the museum had been broken into. I don't know what 'artwork' was stolen, and no, I won't tell you the names of anyone that might have been interested in any such 'artwork' if I knew of anyone who was." He stopped and glared at Audrey and then brushed by her, returning to the stairs that would carry him to the upper decks.

"Duke, I just want-" she started.

He turned on her. "I know. You just want to give me a chance to turn myself in so that I can throw myself on the mercy of the courts. You just want to believe I decided, 'hey, I know, I'll steal something today, and it'll get Audrey's attention.' Well, I didn't. And I'm pissed off that you think that I could have done it."

Audrey's temper flared. "Duke, what do you want me to say? The curator said you went to the museum three times last week and stared at the scrimshaw exhibit and then suddenly this week the most valuable pieces are gone? Unfortunately you've got a bit of a reputation in this town, and everyone believes that you plus missing art equals you having the missing art."

Duke was vibrating with anger. He took a couple of deep breaths before he responded to her. "Everyone, huh? I thought maybe you would be different, but I guess not. Child of the town lush, I must be no good either. I thought maybe you knew me better than that. Here's a lesson for you from the Thieves Handbook, Audrey, since you won't believe me because I tell you I didn't do it. You don't piss where you live. Even if I was stealing anything from anyone, which would be damn hard to do with a restaurant I need to run, I wouldn't steal from people around here."

Audrey wasn't one to take verbal abuse lying down. "You want me to trust you, to believe that you are different from what everyone says you are? Hard to do when you never tell me the whole truth about anything, and you frequently have three or four motives for what you are doing. Makes it a little hard to know where you are coming from there, Duke."

"I guess that's why you have never said 'I love you' back. Tell me, am I just an interesting diversion while you wait for someone else?" he asked bitterly. "Nathan's jealous little display the other night shows that he's interested. But you are just too damned scared to commit to someone like him. It's just easier to play with Haven's resident bad boy." Duke turned and stomped up the stairs.

Audrey followed, grinding her teeth. She cornered the tall man in the Galley. "Duke, I walked into this relationship knowing that you had a past. I was willing to set it aside because I felt strongly about you. However I didn't expect that past to rear up and come between us like this. Now did you or did you not steal the art?"

The sorrow and pain in Duke's eyes could have been real or could have been a masterful act. "No. I haven't stolen anything since I took over the Gull."

She walked over to him, reaching out but he backed up, and then turned away. "I have to go. I need to cover for Nora."

She heard his footsteps as he disembarked from his boat, then heard the roar of the Land Rover's engine.

* * *

><p>Audrey had grimly led the way to her gray sedan, Nathan following her. The warrant had come in a half hour before. She had told Nathan the results of her aborted request of Duke, leaving out how badly the discussion had gone. However, he appeared to have guessed. He hadn't said a word to her after, and hadn't pressed. He hadn't even come back with some sort of comment about Duke being a perpetual liar.<p>

Together they went down to the docks to serve the warrant and search the ship.

Unfortunately, the ship to be searched was gone. Where the Cape Rouge should have been was just an open expanse of water. A quick search around the dock revealed that Duke's truck was gone as well. Jake, one of the old fishing hands, had only offered that Duke had lit out like his tail was on fire when he got back from the Gull. He'd been gone for well over two hours at that point.

"Probably heading out to international waters. Won't be able to catch him out there," Nathan commented. He stared at the horizon, and Audrey wasn't sure if he was wishing to see the Cape Rouge come in, or if he was wishing he never laid eyes on it again.

"I didn't tell him that there was enough for a warrant," Audrey protested.

"I know. But he ran. It's all he knows, I think."

* * *

><p>At eight he next morning Audrey was down at the docks, hoping Duke had returned. He hadn't.<p>

She'd been worried about him in the night. The storm that had been threatening most of the day had hit and the fierce wind smashed her chimes made out of flatware into the side of the Gull with a vengeance When it was over, she realized it wasn't the only thing over: she was over being angry at him, and she wanted to apologize. She wanted to tell him that he was foolish to think that she would choose Nathan. The only thing worse than getting into a relationship with a felon was getting into one with your partner. When she did fall into a fitful sleep, she dreamed the Cape Rouge broke up on the rocks and she found Duke's body on the shore.

She swung back to the Gull, but the staff all claimed that Duke hadn't contacted them. He had just disappeared.

* * *

><p>The second day was a Thursday, and the Haven Herald was mentioning that the storm from the previous night was the second "Storm of the Century" in the past century. The storms had collided just south and east of Haven, and had carried up the coast line staying mostly out to sea. They were still looking for boats that had put out distress calls in the night. So far there had been no evidence that anyone had capsizes, but nor was there evidence that all souls had been found, either. Beattie was too busy out looking for ships in distress to field Audrey's calls, other than a quick check to verify that the Cape Rouge was not one of the missing ships or ships that had called out for help.<p>

* * *

><p>Duke docked the Cape Rouge at nearly 4 a.m. on Saturday. He hadn't really slept since the day he and Audrey had fought. Part of him wondered why he accused her of disloyalty so quickly, and another part realized exactly why. He fully expected Nathan or Stan to be on the docks ready willing and able to execute the search warrant he knew had to be coming his way. Nathan had worked too long trying to find something to pin on him as a smuggler. He was surprised that there was not a cruiser on the dock waiting to take him in. Still, given that he'd been out in the weather for the better part of four days, he was grateful for small mercies.<p>

Duke was tired enough that mooring Cape Rouge to her dock seemed to take twice as long as usual. Still, once the old lady was firmly home, he could finally retire. He stumbled into the master bedroom, stripped down and fell into bed. The sailor buried himself in the middle of the bed, taking up much of the mattress with his lanky form. Of course, now that he'd found himself in his bed, Duke couldn't sleep. He cursed his body's perversity that it was too tired to rest. The smuggler mused that he could have called Audrey, but he didn't have any cupcakes on hand. He figured he would need them to slow her down before she scalped him because of his abrupt departure.

The dark haired man tossed fitfully on the bed. Most of the fleet had gone out to chase down the phantom cries for help that had come in on their radios. The Cape Rouge was, despite her someone decrepit appearance, a very good vessel. Duke had been able to leave the Harbor before the storm broke and head out to search for the missing boat. He'd stayed out, along with most of the fleet, searching and scanning for ships in distress. No one had found any. The calls had stopped coming in after the first night of the storm, but the fleet had stayed out there looking for the lost souls for a few more days. Even now, the big trawlers and the sport fishers that were still out there kept an eye out for flotsam or jetsam in the hopes it might lead to the boat and her crew, that they still might be found alive.

His body at last began to warm up under the blankets, and he felt himself dozing off. He sent forth a quiet wish that the crew of the lost ship was found before his own personal undertow took him.

* * *

><p>The normal hustle and bustle of the Gull greeted Audrey as she walked down the gray staircase. The morning crew were there, obscenely cheerful for that early in the morning. One of the cooks was drawing on the sacred blackboard. She waved to Audrey as so continued doodling something that looked like a lobster that had decided to don a chicken suit. Audrey walked closer, slightly resentful that someone else had used the blackboard.<p>

"I thought tuna was the chicken of the sea?"

The blonde cook grinned. "That is a tuna."

Audrey stepped in for a closer look. "If it's a tuna, why does it have feet?"

The cook considered it for a moment. "It's the chicken suit's feathers. I thought it would look more realistic. And of course the chicken suit had to have feet."

Audrey thought it best not to respond. She still sometimes couldn't tell if the natives were having her on with their wild comments like that. Sometimes they seemed so serious when they said the oddest things. Either the citizenry of Maine were the best deadpan comedians she'd ever met, or they really were just that warped by long winters.

Finishing her master work, the cook scribbled something completely illegible on the board and turned to go back into the restaurant. At the door she paused, "Oh, hey, the fleet's back in. My husband woke me up about three this morning to tell me he was home. He was happy to see me... I bet Duke will be happy to see you too!" she said with a sly, knowing grin. "Gotta love it when the boys come home from the sea." With that she turned and bounced into the building.

Audrey paused for a moment, dumbfounded and then jogged over to her car. She would be late for work, again, but dealing with Nathan's wrath would be worth it if Duke really had come back to port.

The things the detective told her during the few days that Duke had been gone didn't really mean much to her. Truth was she was starting to learn to ignore Nathan on the subject of Duke, until this last catastrophe. She'd never seen Duke be any less than a gentleman, and while he did walk in the gray space of the laws, and likely into the she'd-be-very-pissed-if-she-found-out-about-it areas of illegal, he'd acted too many times with kindness to total strangers, offering to help her help the troubled. Maybe Nathan had been right, and Duke had just done it to get into her pants, but maybe she could coax him back to the light side, well, lighter side. She'd seen too much of the pirate to disregard that he could and did act with surprising care for those he felt affection. Hell, he'd been willing to risk his hide to save Henry. Maybe he hadn't run after all.

* * *

><p>Audrey drove down the dock, once again listening to the quiet thuds as the tires cleared the widths of the old boards. Cape Rouge was riding high on the tide that had just switched to ebbing, and she had seen the boat clearly from the ridge as she drove down to the marina. Now the sedan carried her past the vessel. Duke's Land Rover was still missing, she noticed but the Cape Rouge's presence gave her hope that even if she couldn't find Duke present on the boat, he'd be back soon.<p>

She was out of her sedan faster than she thought possible as she slipped on board. The deck was odd, and it took her a few minutes to realize that Duke's normal hodge-podge of lawn furniture, laundry and lobster traps were all missing. Without them, Audrey could begin to see the Cape Rouge as she once must have been, a fine fishing ship. The notion that Duke hid the quality of his ship in poor paint and refuse much as he hid the quality of himself lodged itself in her mind, but before she could begin to explore it too far, she ran up to the pilot house.

As she looked through the window, she was taken aback. The place looked like it had been thoroughly tossed. There were maps spread everywhere, and the hand piece for the ship to shore radio was clearly across the room from where it should have been. There was a few coffee cups scattered around the bridge, as well as a couple of plates. Given their presence, Audrey realized Duke himself must have likely caused this mess rather than someone else. She began to wonder if he did run again, but then if he did, why come back? And why leave everything in disarray. His deck not withstanding, Duke was nothing if not a perfectionist and neat freak when it came to most things.

Audrey descended as quickly as she safely could down the ladder and began looking at the hatches. Looking down into the various hatches, she could see that Duke, wherever he had been, had been living hard for a few days. Duke slept towards the bow of the ship, and as she approached the final hatch, she found herself grinning. Her sailor was laying in his bed on his back, looking dead to the world. As she watched he rolled over, and curled himself up on one side of the bed, one arm reaching out until it brought a pillow up to his chest.

Her relief at finding him alive, seemingly well, and asleep in his bed gave her a warm glow for a few moments, before she reminded herself that she was going to kill him for causing her to worry. For a few moments she wished that one of the buckets that seemed to always be on the deck was around just so she could haul up the sea water and drop it on him through the hatch. Fortunately for him, the buckets had joined the lawn chairs in temporary exile.

Audrey decided that since Duke had told her where he kept the key to get in, that was as good as a standing invitation, and she used it to let herself in. The galley was a mess, and it was unusually dark without the lights. She flicked a switch and noted irritably that the light did not come on. By the light of the hatches she made her way to the stateroom. Duke hadn't stirred at her approach.

* * *

><p>Duke thought that maybe Sleeping Beauty had it right; everyone should be woken up by a kiss. A dream of mermaids faded from him as he found himself drawn up by the feel of soft, strong lips on his. When the mouth lifted away, he arched up to follow it, opening his eyes only as an after thought. Audrey sat haloed in the hatchway light. She looked at him with unfathomable eyes. "That was for coming back safely." She then reached out and punched him on the arm, which Duke found surprisingly forceful. "And that is for being an ass."<p>

"Ouch!" Duke sat himself up and rubbed his arm. "Not nice, Audrey. Friends don't beat on friends. And that goes double for girlfriends."

The glare Audrey shot him spoke elegantly in and of itself.

"Yeah, ok, so I deserved it. I was an ass. I'm sorry." Duke looked at her, hoping that admission would be enough to slake her wrath, because he still didn't have any cupcakes.

"For?" Audrey could do a wicked imitation of his drawl from the first day they met, when he had made Nathan apologize for accusing Duke of killing Lester.

Duke winced. "For yelling at you?"

Audrey blinked. "Yelling at me," she said quietly. She paused, and then spoke, each word growing more heated. "For four days, Duke, I have been convinced that you pulled out of Haven and ran from me without even telling me goodbye. Nathan and I had to come back with a warrant to search the Cape Rouge and the Gull for those scrimshaw pieces. When we showed up, you weren't here. We both thought you'd left for good. We just differed on if you'd taken the art. Despite what you accused me of, I wasn't convinced you did it. However, when you disappeared, everyone else in town was convinced."

"If you want to look for the scrimshaw, have at it, but I'm telling you now, you won't find it." Duke gestured openly to the boat. "I have never lied to you when I was naked and I assure you, I am quite naked under here."

Audrey stifled a laugh. "Oh, I know that, Duke. You see, one of the staff was out on vacation and came back two days ago. She had heard there was a break in and some things had been stolen. When she found out what, she went to the curator and told him that she'd taken the scrimshaw off display because she thought the exhibit ended. Turns out she had the wrong dates in her office calendar. All the pieces were found stored safely in the museum's vault." She closed her eyes and sighed. "So then I had to wonder if you left just because I had doubted you."

Duke held out a hand and cupped Audrey's jaw. "Audrey, didn't Sal talk to you? I asked him to let you know... I would have called you myself, but first I was angry and then I found out that the ship to shore was broken. There are no cell towers out there so it wasn't like I could call you on my phone."

"Sal? No. Who is Sal?" The completely puzzled look on Audrey's face was amusing.

"Sal owns the tub at the north end of the marina. He never leaves dock, and the bets are on as to how long his ship will even float. He couldn't take her out in the weather." Duke scrubbed his hand through his hear and then rubbed at the ache he always seemed to have at the base of his shoulder and neck. "That storm that came in? There was a boat in distress. No one could find it. Those of us that had ships that could take on the storm, like Gerty here, were asked to help try to locate the vessel. I went out as soon as I could. You don't..." he paused. "You don't let people die alone out there if you can help it. It's no way for a person to go, and have their loved ones never know. You get a call like that, the whole fleet goes out, if it can. Even now they're still looking."

"No one said anything to Nathan or me. Not even Beattie." Audrey angled around behind Duke, and rubbed at the knot that always seemed to bother him.

Duke leaned back into her touch. "Beattie had her hands full, trying to ensure everyone was ok here. Sal must have forgotten, or gotten drafted to help Beattie. I'm sorry, Audrey. I was angry, yes, but I would never have left you like that, not if I could help it."

The two took comfort in each other for a few moments before Audrey's phone buzzed in her pocket. Duke laughed, "Wow, Audrey, I guess you really were happy to see me."

She rolled her eyes. "Nathan calls. He's cranky I'm late for work again."

"He'll be even crankier that he didn't get to arrest me."

Audrey got up while Duke lay back down intending to go back to sleep. She leaned down over him, and he lazily watched her pendant sway in the shadows. She kissed him on the lips. "Duke, I do want you to know one thing. I... I do love you, even if I don't say it." With that she turned and left.

If she'd turned around, she would have seen him smiling still even as he sank back into the arms of sleep.

* * *

><p><em>An: So...what do you think? Based on the story stats, a lot more people are reading this than say anything...sigh._


	11. Nice Day For a Ride

Saturday

"Turn about is fair play, my dear," Duke declared when Audrey complained that she wanted to know what their plans for the day were. If she could drag him to Boston without declaring the itinerary, surely he could do the same without leaving the state.

He really didn't know what her feelings would be about his idea, but it had been something that he remembered from earlier in their relationship, and hoped that she'd recall something she'd once instructed him to say.

He had picked her up at eight, and had listened to her complain about his early morning shenanigans. "Nothing good ever comes of you getting me up before eight on a Saturday, Duke," she sighed.

Duke grinned at her. "Audrey, I think you'll like this, I do. And if you don't, well, I'll think of some way of making it up to you."

"You will have to watch the **Poseidon Adventure** with me," she immediately fired back.

"I can do that. Uh, which one?" Duke belated remembered that the most recent version of the movie was not the original, and that the original really wasn't that great. He'd never understood people's infatuation with it.

"The one with Steve Gutenburg."

"There's one with Steve Gutenburg?" he asked skeptically, unable to imagine Gutenburg in any of the male roles.

"Yes, and it's the only one I haven't seen. It's actually a mini-series. And then we can watch **Titanic** and **Speed 2**."

"I think I'm scared of your infatuation with boat disaster movies."

Audrey grinned. It was nice to see her being less stressed out than she had been. He honestly thought getting out of Haven for their dates was a good thing. She seemed to relax, perhaps realizing she wouldn't have to jump to some troubled person's rescue. Duke turned on the radio and headed up into the wilds of Maine.

"So where exactly are we going?" Audrey flipped her hair back and tied it up into a pony tail.

Duke watched her out of the corner of his eye. "We are going leaf-peeping."

"You are taking me to stare at trees." The flat tone in Audrey's voice reminded Duke that not too terribly long ago, trees had tried to kill them both off.

He couldn't resist. "Ayuh."

"I cannot believe you just said that. To me. Next you'll be saying something's 'wicked.'" Audrey rolled her eyes.

Duke's eyes sparkled. "The trees up in the mountains are wicked colorful. I thought it would be wicked cool to see them. By the way, 'wicked' is more a southern Maine and New Hampshire thing. Ayuh, though, that's just normal. You're just jealous you can't say it right."

Audrey tried to match his inflection. "Ay-yup."

"No, no, there's no P. It's got to be said without any lip motions."

She tried again. "Ay-yah."

"Closer, still not quite there. More from the stomach. Like someone punched you." Duke was laughing as Audrey tried to master the signature Maine sound.

She began to laugh too. "I don't know what's worse. Not being able to say it, or you coaching me. You know you don't say syrup right? Or Nathan doesn't. I haven't decided who failed that one."

"Sir-ip or sur-ip it's all good. Maples are my favorite tree." Duke tapped his fingers in time to the song on the radio.

Audrey looked out the front window. "There are a lot of them."

"I think we could take Vermont in pure maple sugar production, but really, who wants to tap that many trees?" Duke shrugged. "Not me, that's for sure."

* * *

><p>The two rode along in companionable silence. The further north and west they went, the more the solid green of the trees gave way to golds and oranges. Even the sailor had to admit, it was beautiful in its own right. Unfortunately, the traffic jam from all the people stopping on the side of the road ruined the atmosphere.<p>

"It's funny. This one time I was driving through the mountains in New Hampshire during leaf-peeping season. People kept pulling over on route 93 to stop and stare at the trees. For miles you'd see all these cars just pulled off on the side of the highway." Duke was glad that this was not the way he had intended to take Audrey leaf-peeping.

Audrey snorted. "And yet, here we are, clogging up the highway in Maine."

"We are not clogging up the highway, trust me. I've got something much better planned."

"And here you are, not telling me everything, again."

Duke, stung, flashed a look at Audrey. "I thought you might like the surprise."

Audrey reached over and laid a hand on his shoulder. "If I don't, I'll research boat disaster movies until you never take the Cape Rouge out of the harbor again. Of course, I might do that anyway if you take off on me like that again. I was worried about you. Next time call me, ok? I thought you'd left town for good."

"I don't think you need to be worried about me chasing more phantom ships or burying any more dead wives," he said in a soft voice.

Audrey drew back in mock shock. "Duke Crocker, you have more wives that are alive?"

The dark haired man snorted. "Yes, I keep a harem on the boat. You'll be number 17, if we decide to get married. They're stored in the bilges because then I don't have to listen to them whine."

They were saved from anymore conversation when Duke pulled off the highway onto a road that was more a logging trail than anything else. Audrey had to grab at the door to keep from bouncing around into Duke's lap while he drove. He, meanwhile had a semi-manic grin on his face as he tore down the unpaved road and speeds that were probably too fast for complete safety. The advantage was that the road was much clearer now, and that there were not any other leaf peepers on this rutted track.

Eventually he turned the truck down a very narrow lane. It had been graveled at one point, but most of the stones had been kicked out by tires long ago. Now there were two dirt ruts surrounded by a mound of stone on either side. Duke took this with considerably less speed than he had the other road, even though this was in slightly better repair. The answer why became apparent when the road ended abruptly in front of a barn.

Duke parked the truck up against the red walls of the barn. He got out and walked over to Audrey, on the other side of the car. "Phil, you here man?"

An older man exited the barn out of a small door in the side. "I'm here, I'm here. Hang on a second." He ducked back into the barn and something clanged, followed by a loud thump. Slowly a large door was opened. Through it, the well maintained interior of the barn was revealed.

There were about ten stalls on the left side and eight on the right. In place of the final two stalls was a room with a human, rather than horse sized door. Phil emerged from inside the door. "This the young filly you wanted me to teach to saddle a horse?"

Duke nodded. "This is her."

"Go get Striper and Black Bass out. They're in the 3rd and 5th stalls. Got their names on the door." The old man motioned to Audrey. "You come with me. I'll show you the tack room."

Duke kept half an ear on Phil and Audrey while he walked down the stalls where Striper and Black Bass were. Both were large horses, but very gentle of temper. He'd asked Phil for his two quietest, most gentle horses and wasn't surprised to find these two mares had been selected. Striper was a Morgan-Percheron cross, with a dappled gray coat. Black Bass was a gigantic Belgian-Percheron cross that was as black as her name. Duke found it faintly amusing that he had worked with these two horses so many years before, when he'd had his first serious run in with the law. Back then the horses had been much smaller. So had he, when he thought about it. Phil still ran a program for "at-risk" kids, but his daughter had taken it over years ago.

He unclipped the lead that was hanging out side of Black Bass's stall, and went in to talk to her. She did what she had done as a foal, and ignored him in favor of food. He clipped the lead line on to her halter. For a moment she resisted him, just long enough for him to get the message she was only moving because she felt like it and then she followed him docilely out of the stall. He tied her to the cross brace outside of the tack room. He quickly checked over Black Bass, ensuring her legs were sound, and checking her hooves quickly for anything caught under the shoes. When he was satisfied that Black Bass was in good condition to ride, he ducked into the tack room to get another lead line and went back and to get Striper.

Striper proved to be more enthusiastic about leaving her stall, practically dragging Duke down the hallway to join her half sister. Once she was also tied, far enough that the two horses couldn't put the squeeze on anyone caught between them, he also checked out the gray mare.

"Don't trust me?" Phil asked, and nearly startling Duke into falling under Striper.

He pulled himself to his feet. "I trust you, but I remember you said that you always need to check the horses yourself."

The old man nodded. "Glad something other than rock songs stuck in that head of yours."

Striper and Black Bass ignored everyone, deciding to doze. Phil continued instructing Audrey on how to deal with horses, unsure of her knowledge of horses in general. Duke held Striper's head while Audrey brushed out the horse briefly before placing the saddle blanket on the mare's withers, or shoulders as Phil described them before sliding it down to her back to be in the proper position.

Duke scratched Striper's ears as he watched Audrey struggle with the saddle. First she couldn't get the stirrup hooked over the horn, and when she did, the cinch slid off. When she picked it up to put it on Striper's back, the western saddle almost dwarfed the small woman. Duke tried not to laugh, but he wasn't that successful. She mouthed Poseidon Adventure at him. Eventually she did get the stirrups and cinch to stay where they were supposed to be, and slipped it over the tall animal's back. She slipped the stirrups off the horn and slid the cinch down on the other side of the horse.

Eventually she was able to get the cinch tied to saddle to secure it to the horse. She'd been amused by the fact that a Windsor knot had other uses than just for neck ties. When she went to bridle Striper, Phil had her instead practice her new skill on Black Bass. She only needed a couple of reminders, and was done in about half the time. Of course, it helped that Duke actually put the saddle on the bigger mare. Still, she had correctly gotten everything in place before he placed it on the horse's back.

Phil returned to the tack room with two bridles. He handed one to Duke and one to Audrey. It only took Audrey about 30 seconds to get herself wrapped up in the bridle while trying to get it over Striper's head. She tried again and tied herself up in the halter. The third time continued to be the proverbial charm as she managed to get the halter half off, the bridal on, and then remove the halter without getting herself tied up in anymore tack. She also took three attempts to get Black Bass' bridal on.

Phil held the two horses for a moment while Duke returned to his truck and grabbed a back pack. He helped Audrey mount Black Bass, and then got up astride Striper. "You remember to keep my horses mouths soft, boy!" Phil called out.

Duke nodded. "Anywhere we shouldn't go?"

"Down by Cripple Creek was all flooded out from the spring storms. There's a lot of downed trees. I'd stay away from there, and the swamps. Road to Canterbury's pretty good," the old man advised. "Don't let Black Bass eat the bushes," he added as an afterthought.

"Thanks, Phil. See you later." Duke cluck to the mare and she set off at a lazy walk. Black Bass followed, Audrey clinging to the big horse's back.

"Duke, why am I on the really, really big one and you are only on the really big one?" she asked.

Duke pulled back and Striper stopped for a moment, until the two mares were roughly side by side. "Because I didn't know you if you could ride and Black Bass pretty much can take anything in stride. I remember her standing still with hunters shooting guns in the woods. That horse is bomb-proof. Striper here is a little more apt to spook."

"Oh." Audrey thought for a moment. "Come here often, do you?"

"Nah, but Phil and I have kept in touch periodically. I asked him if we could go out riding to leaf peep and he agreed to it. I think he was curious about what kind of woman never saddled a horse before. Up here in the backwoods, horses are pretty common. He wanted to see what type of city girl I met." The saddle creaked as Duke shifted his weight slightly.

The two cut a spiral path out from the barn until Duke entered the woods at clearly defined path. The two horses were in no rush, and Duke knew that it would take a moose charging at them for the horses to get up to a trot. Even then, it wouldn't last long.

"How'd you meet him?" Audrey asked after several minutes of quiet.

"You know those programs for young offenders, where they have the kids in juvie training shelter dogs and what not? Well, Phil adopts horses from all over that need work, and ran a program for juvie offenders and at-risk teens. I spent a summer up here when I was 16 on probation - no, I will not tell you what for - and I actually helped with these two when they were foals." Duke leaned down and patted Striper's shoulder.

"Occasionally I came back to visit. His daughter runs the program now. However Phil will still teach the kids the basics, usually with these guys or horses like them."

Audrey relaxed a little, and began to enjoy the ride. "Huh. What was wrong with the foals then?"

"Hold your reins a littler looser. Bass doesn't need to be reined in. Getting her to move is the trick. Nothing was wrong with them, they were just big foals. Bass probably could have been used in horse pulling, but she's a little small. Striper's too small for that, too big for a lot of other things. These guys are the by-catch of the horse world. Their mothers were sent out to give milk to 'expensive' foals whose mothers needed to be breed again right after they gave birth." Duke shrugged. "I got stuck with taking care of them. Since they both ended up being so calm, Phil kept both of them."

* * *

><p>Together they rode on through the trees, steadily climbing upwards. There was a lot more wildlife out here then had been in Haven. It was odd, Duke though, and faintly creepy, to have no other sound than the jingle of harness, the creaking of the leather, and the steady sound of the two horses walking. He'd forgotten that you saw more of nature from a horse's back than nearly anywhere else. Still, he missed the quiet sound of waves on the sea. Here there was only the occasional gust of wind which rattled the leaves in the trees.<p>

Eventually the hill topped out, and Duke brought Striper to a halt. He dismounted and tied the reins to a tree before taking Audrey's hand and helping her down. He loosened both of the horse's cinches. After loosening up the straps, he took Audrey's hand again, and led her through the thinning woods. He was pleased with himself for her reaction when they cleared the last of the trees onto a rocky ledge.

Down below them was the valley they had ridden out of earlier in the day. Spread out before them like a well-made quilt was a forest in full grandeur. Shadows fell from the higher peaks and colored the turning leaves purple and blue. On the slopes where the sun still shown, there were golds, scarlets, and oranges, all harmoniously blended together in a symphony of color. Through the middle of the valley a stream wended its way to the sea.

Audrey gasped, amazed at all of the colors. From behind her, Duke sat back and watched her reaction, happy that she was delighted. "Welcome to Leaf-Peeping Season, and Canterbury Cliff," he said quietly.

"I, I didn't think that anything was like this. I thought...I don't know what I thought," Audrey stuttered.

Duke laughed. "You'd never see this from the road. Makes me feel bad for those poor tourists, until I realize that if they knew about this place, we'd be up to our eyeballs in them."

"It's so beautiful," Audrey sighed. "Oh, look! A moose! There's actually a moose!"

"So there is. I'm glad he's down there though and not up here. Moose are not bright, and I did not invite a moose to our picnic." With that he stepped back from the ledge and took off his back pack. From it he pulled a couple of containers that had obviously been borrowed from the Gull, and some plates that had the same point of origination. He kept an eye on Audrey as he mixed things from the various containers together, slightly worried about her propensity for walking near the edge of the cliff.

Eventually he called her over and they ate lunch together. For dessert, he presented Audrey with cottage cheese that had been liberally sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. He also cut up an apple for her to scoop it up with. He set another apple aside to feed to the horses, silently apologizing to Phil for feeding them when they were bridled.

"I could stay here all day," Audrey sighed, leaning back on her arms and looking over the landscape below.

Duke stretched out on the rocks beside her, well away from the edge. He estimated they could stay up here for an hour or so before they had to start heading back. "Hmmm," he agreed.

"Hey, Duke, can I ask you a question?" Audrey turned to Duke, her face very serious.

Duke regarded her warily. "Yeah."

"Ok, this is really important for me to know. You've had that iguana tank for four weeks now. What are you doing with it since you don't have an iguana?"

The smuggler laughed. "You have to cycle tanks before you put anything in them. I'm waiting until the test strip thingys come back the right color. I hear that it can take a couple of weeks."

"Uh, what test strip thingys?"

He shrugged. "There are these test strips you need to stick in and they turn certain colors and that's when you know the tank's ready. You get them at the pet shop."

Audrey giggled. "I think you only need those tests for fish tanks, Duke."

Duke looked at her scandalized. "I googled it. Every site agreed that tanks needed to be cycled before you added anything to them."

"Ok, Duke. Good luck with it." Audrey was still giggling.

Duke shook his head at his girlfriend and started packing up. "As much as I would love to stay here forever, unfortunately the sun won't be around very long. We need to get the horses back to the stable, and it'll be dark down in the valley because of the mountains' shadows." He stopped and offered a hand to haul Audrey to her feet. "But, there is one last thing I wanted to accomplish today, Officer Agent Parker." He pulled out an old tape player and started it up.

Audrey turned beet red and laughed. Together they managed to do...something. Duke wasn't entirely sure it was the electric slide or the dance to Cotton-Eyed Joe. When Audrey had questioned him about the tape player, Duke had told her there was no way in hell he was putting The Electric Slide on his player. He didn't mention, however, that he didn't have to go far looking for the music: tape had been his. Sometimes mystery in a relationship was a good thing.

When they returned to the horses, Duke feed them each half of an apple, then tightened the cinches up again. They slowly made their way back down the trail and returned the horses to the barn, thoroughly brushing them down and checking their hooves before returning the animals to their stalls. Duke slung an arm around Audrey and she leaned into him as they left the barn together.

* * *

><p>Sunday<br>The Grey Gull

"What's today's special?" a voice asked, making Duke and Audrey looked up. Duke wasn't technically working, but he'd decided to make a pest of himself to his staff and cook breakfast down at the Gull since Audrey's appliances were nice but no competition for the restaurant's.

"No idea, Nathan, because I'm not here to work. Audrey and I are going to have chocolate chip waffles, though. Care for some? On the house," he added, feeling magnanimous. From the lack of sarcasm, he sensed that Nathan was trying to get past being thrown out days earlier and to make nice. He could reciprocate, if only for his girlfriend's sake.

"If you don't mind," Nathan replied, coming to sit at the bar near Audrey. Duke didn't fail to notice that she raised her eyebrows when he did.

"Sure, the more the merrier. Cooking for three justifies the mess I'm making a little more," he said mildly.

The door swung open, making bells chime. Duke looked over and saw Jess walk in. The sight of her coming in reminded him of something. "Hey," he said in a low voice. "Did Jess ever talk to you guys?"

"About?" Audrey asked. "You need to be more specific."

"About needing your help."

She and Nathan exchanged a look, and Nathan shook his head. "Nope."

"I figured," he said before calling over to Jess, "Jess, come here, would you?"

The brunette looked uncertain, but walked over anyway. He pointed at a stool next to Nathan. "Sit."

"Why?" she asked, sitting reluctantly. This made Duke feel a bit bad since things immediately seemed a little awkward between Jess and Nathan, but he thought that solving her problem was worth a bit of squirming. Especially considering that she'd been in Haven for weeks and hadn't gotten up the courage to approach either of them on her own yet.

"It seems that you haven't gotten around to asking for Audrey and Nathan's help with your problem. They're both here, so you really should."

"Oh..." Jess looked down at the bar, appearing to wish that she was anywhere else.

"You have a problem?" Nathan asked, not actually looking at her.

She splayed her fingers across the surface of the bar. "I think I'm..."

"You're?" Audrey prompted, shooting Duke a look. He shrugged. It wasn't his place to out Jess.

"Troubled," Jess said at last. "I think I'm troubled."

"You're not troubled," Nathan said with a dismissive snort. "Wait, you're not joking."

"No, I'm not." Her voice was a bit firmer. "It's not the sort of thing I'd joke about."

"She wouldn't, Nathan," Audrey said, giving their friend a concerned look. "Why do you think you're troubled?"

Jess suddenly looked distraught. "People end up fighting around me, all the time. And it's my fault."

"That sounds like a personality disorder," Nathan said, and everyone looked at him. "Stirring crap up for one's amusement is a trait of borderline personality disorder," he said defensively. "And that doesn't really sound like something you do, Jess."

"She's not suggesting that she's stirring anything up on purpose," Duke interrupted. He put plates in front of the others, even Jess, who didn't seem to expect to be fed without giving an order. "Just that being around people causes them to fight."

"That does sound like a possible trouble," Audrey admitted.

"Or witchcraft," Jess said quietly. They all looked at her. "My great-grandmother Maryse lived until I was thirteen. Before she died she told me a lot of stories about our family...and some of them involved _her_ great-grandmother Élodie being a witch. She insisted that it was in our family lineage, like having dark hair and green eyes."

"That doesn't mean anything," Duke scoffed, hoping to erase the bleak look from her face. "If genetics were that reliable, I'd have drunk myself out of business within three months of taking this place over."

"Troubles do get passed along, though," Nathan pointed out quietly. "We all know that." He turned slightly on his stool. "Did this happen to anyone else in your family? People fighting whenever they came around like you're talking about?"

Jess shook her head. "No. I think I would have noticed if my parents were always in the midst of fighting people, or if my grandparents were."

"Probably not a trouble then," he concluded.

Duke wasn't so sure. While it was true that Audrey had told him about many people who came from a long line of the troubled, it wasn't unheard of for a new trouble to spring up, like Vanessa's had.

She looked like she felt a little better. "And as for being a witch, I'd know by now, wouldn't I? I'm in my thirties after all."

"And you never got a letter from Howarts, I take it," Audrey said, grinning at her.

"Hardly."

"If there _were_ schools for witches, they'd probably be right here," Duke suggested, finally coming to sit with his own plate. "This is probably the weirdest part of the country, after all."

"The west coast is pretty weird," Nathan objected.

"But not in the same way."

"Fair point."

"Guys?" Audrey said, making them look at her. "Focus."

Duke narrowed his eyes. "You're the one to get us off track, sweetheart." He didn't fail to notice that Nathan stiffened momentarily, before recovering himself. _Too cutesy for his comfort, I take it_, he thought ruefully. _Screw that. He'll learn to deal._

"And now I'm getting us back on track." She turned to Jess. "If it does turn out that you're troubled, we'll figure out how to help you cope. But as far as I'm concerned, it's still an if."

"Thank you," Jess replied, looking away from Audrey and Nathan and towards Duke instead.

The expression on her face all but said that she'd been hoping for more, but Duke wasn't sure what they could do about it. She wasn't hurting anyone, after all, so it was natural for both of them to consider it a lower priority than helping those who put themselves and others in danger. At least she'd gotten her concerns out in the open.

They spent the rest of the meal talking about inconsequential things. Duke didn't fail to notice that neither Jess nor Nathan, sitting side by side, ever really seemed entirely comfortable. It actually surprised him a little that Jess hadn't immediately spun on her heel the moment she realized that Nathan was there, so he supposed that meant that she was a lot more forgiving than many of the women he knew... Audrey excluded, however.

When they finished eating, Duke gathered up the plates and silverware to bring back to the dish room. Audrey was waiting for him when he walked back into the dining room. She threw her arms around him and kissed his cheek. "Thanks for a wonderful breakfast."

"You're welcome," he murmured, but his eyes were on Nathan, not her. If looks could kill, he'd be dead on the floor. Jess's posture said she'd noticed Nathan's reaction too, and she looked less than pleased about it.

It was all Duke could do not to shake his head in disgust. How could Nathan not see what was right in front of him? It reminded him of the dogs a neighbor had owned growing up, and how they were always trying to steal bones from each other rather than be content with their own. The girls weren't interchangeable, of course, but Nathan could be a lot happier if he'd just let himself focus on someone other than Audrey for a change.

Audrey, who had her back turned to Nathan and Jess through the silent exchange, turned to the two of them with a bright smile. "What are you doing today?"

"I don't know. Why?" Nathan asked warily.

"Duke and I are going on a whale watch. You two should come."

_Don't say 'double date,'_ Duke silently willed her once he saw their semi-horrified expressions. It was Jess's reaction that concerned him more, because underneath looking embarrassed he thought he could detect a hint of longing, though if it was to see whales or spend the day with Nathan, he couldn't say.

In the end Audrey was disappointed because neither of her would-be fixed up victims agreed to join them on the outing. Duke himself was relieved when they both bowed out: though he also thought they could use a push, Audrey's ploy had been a bit too forced and transparent to work out in the end. If they'd come, he was sure there would be less romance than insecurity in the air, and it might have been a step back rather than forward for the pair.

* * *

><p><em>an: So, one of your authors, me, at least will cop to saying "Ayuh" on occasion, but only the end of the chapter (Sunday) was mine, lol. We both say "wicked" a whole lot more often, but then, most people from NH do._

_What are readers' theories on the cause of the wackiness going on in Haven through this story? Find out if you figured it out in chapter 12. And then, on to the business of wendigos! But not until chapter 14. Chapter 13 had a pretty awesome last minute addition by Faerax this week, then I remembered a scene **I** forgot about too...so that pushes the beginning of our version of "Who What Where Wendigo" off just a little bit. _

_You know, all the way last December Faerax and I wrote **another** lengthy story set in Haven, one that's seasonally appropriate again... Check out "_Christmas in (Haven) Maine"_ under my name if you get the chance to. Oh, and maybe the stories that come before it: "_The Orange Kitten_" by Faerax (a funny Duke-centric prequel) under her name - she's under my favorite authors if you have trouble finding her - and "_Staged Duplicity_," and "_Recovering Gemini_" by me, both featuring the non-Haven characters in "Ci(H)M." For the record "Ci(H)M" is Audrey/Nathan UST, Audrey/Duke UST, not a relationship-based story since it's set after season one. _


	12. Playthings

Two Days Later

When Audrey returned to the office from a coffee run, she found Nathan giving his radio an incredulous look. "They're reporting WHAT?"

There was a brief silence, then Laverne came back, sounding apologetic. "Lawson's Toy Store is reporting that some of the toys have come to life."

"She's kidding, right?" Audrey asked Nathan. "Come on, she has to be."

"Laverne doesn't kid," Nathan said shortly.

This stumped her. As far as she knew, that was completely true. Laverne might like giving them pet names, but she cracked jokes even less often than Nathan did. "There has to be a reasonable explanation." Nathan gave her a long look, making her sigh. "Okay, it's Haven, and that's explanation enough."

"Not quite," he said sourly.

As she got into his Bronco, she couldn't help but agree. Her patience for weirdness was wearing thin too.

* * *

><p>Lawson's was a town institution, a small family-owned toy store that had first opened when Oscar Lawson had come back from fighting in WWII and wanted two things out of life: to have a happy life with the bride he'd left behind for twenty months, and to have the sort of career that never reminded him of war again. To achieve the latter no plastic guns or other violent toys were sold in the store until after Oscar died in his sleep. None of the parents minded much, and it had in fact made him the favorite of many mothers during the 60s and 70s.<p>

The store was now managed by one of Lawson's sons, but Samuel had been hinting around town that it was only a matter of time before he passed the reins down to his own son, James. It was Samuel who met Nathan and Audrey before they even got to the colorfully painted store's front door.

On his best day Samuel was stooped and frail, but just then he looked absolutely ashen. His complexion was so alarming a color that Nathan found himself running through CPR instructions in the back of his mind. "Nathan," Samuel croaked, shuffling over to them. "Am I glad to see you. You too, my dear," he added, making it clear that he didn't have a clue what Audrey's name was.

"We got a report that there's something wrong with your toys?" Nathan asked evenly. There were other people walking by the store, so there was no way that he was going to say that the toys had come to life. In fact, he and Audrey shepherded the elderly shop keeper towards his door just in case he decided to say it himself.

Samuel didn't say anything until they were standing on the threshold. "Officers, I have two problems today."

"Two?" Audrey asked a little sharply.

The old man nodded. "Not only is there the problem I called about, my store is full of children I haven't managed to run off. Back in my day kids used to mine, but now..." He shook his head ruefully.

It was only then that Nathan saw through the store's windows that the place was crawling with children. None of them seemed to be there with parents.

When they walked inside, Samuel stumbled, making Audrey grab his arm to steady him. "Mister Lawson, are you feeling okay?" she asked, concerned.

Sweat dotted his forehead, so it came as no surprise when he admitted that he wasn't. "I just wanted to go home and get James to come deal with this, but with all these kids in here-" Several of the children in question were exclaiming in delight over something nearby, making it hard for Nathan to hear him. "I can't leave the store unattended."

"You should go now," Nathan encouraged. "We'll get the kids out of here, take care of that other issue, and lock up for you if James doesn't get back before then."

Samuel was so grateful that he verged on tears. "Bless you both." He reached behind the register and picked up his hat and coat. Before he left, he pressed a piece of paper with a phone number on it into Audrey's hand. "This is the phone number for James. If he's not here in twenty minutes, you have my blessing to call him up and harass him."

"Take care of yourself, Mister Lawson."

"Of course." Samuel paused to look at the kids running around. "See where those brats are over there?" he asked Nathan. "That's where _they_ are."

"Right."

Without another word, Samuel Lawson left the toy store in their capable hands.

The two police officers exchanged a look, then stalked forward towards where most of the kids had congregated.

* * *

><p>At first it was difficult to see what had the kids' attention, because there were small bodies pressed into a crowd. Nathan simply moved a few of the kids bodily, careful not to hurt them, so they could get to the front of the pack.<p>

Audrey's brain had trouble accepting the sight that met them. A lot of strange things had happened in Haven since mid-August, but this was definitely the strangest, even compared to the castle that had sprung up over night. On the floor several small toys moved on their own. Not in a wind-up toy sort of way, but in a completely deliberate and purposeful one.

Some of them, escapees from the Barbie and GI Joe aisles, seemed to be dancing together. Audrey was pretty sure that one of the Joes was flirting with a fashion model doll, but she felt that the less she thought about it, the better it would be for her mental health. Several stuffed animals were bounding around, apparently just thrilled to no longer be sitting idle on shelves. Others seemed to be trying to beat each other up.

All but one of the children watching it all happen looked thrilled. As she looked at the young outlier, at first Audrey thought that he was scared, but something clicked in her mind and she knew that it wasn't fear that she was seeing.

She strode over to the dark-haired little boy and grabbed him by the arm. He looked up at her, guilt in his grass green eyes. "Andy Kale?" she asked firmly, her tone suggesting that if he was Andy, he damn well better not say he wasn't. "Is that your name?"

"Yes," he admitted, voice quavering.

"Come with me." Audrey practically dragged him off, nodding to Nathan. She hoped that he'd know to get rid of the rest of the kids as soon as he could, and join her at the station.

"Am I going to be arrested?" Andy asked, shivering as she led him to her car. "And why don't you drive a police car? I know you're a cop."

"You are not being arrested," Audrey told him, opening the back door for him. He hesitated for a moment, and then climbed in with a resigned look on his face. "Because you're what, eleven?"

"Ten."

"Ten. We don't arrest ten-year-olds unless they murder someone."

Andy's eyes widened. "Kids my age kill people?"

"Not very often. And to answer your other question, I'm not a uniformed officer, so I don't drive a police car. My partner and I are what people refer to as 'plain clothes' detectives."

"So you can trick people into not knowing you're cops right off?" Andy asked. "My dad said that's what unmarked cruisers are for."

She rolled her eyes, and then pulled out her cell phone. "What's your number? I need to call him to have him or your mom meet us at the station."

"So I am going to jail." Andy slumped dejectedly against the door.

"I told you, we don't arrest kids your age," Audrey reminded him. "Phone number?"

Andy recited a number, and Audrey called it, arranging to have Andy's mother meet them at the station.

* * *

><p>When Nathan noticed Audrey dragging a little boy off from their latest scene, his first thought was to immediately assume that this was further manifestation of what he'd begun to think of as Audrey's lack of perspective. Lately, she'd been crossing enough lines to worry him and he thought she'd decided to arrest the child, but he then realized that she'd made no move to cuff him - not that he believed that the cuffs could be made small enough - and that she was answering the boy's questions, not reading him his rights.<p>

From the dismayed whispers from the kids who were left, it was clear that they had no idea that Audrey hadn't arrested their little friend. "Oh, man, Andy's goin' to jail," one kid whispered loud enough for Nathan to overhear.

Arranging his expression into one as stern as he could, Nathan glowered at the children. "That's right. If you don't want to explain to your parents why you're meeting them at the station too, you'd better go home **now**."

Those were apparently the magic words, because within seconds all the kids fled the store, leaving Nathan alone with the animated toys. Sighing, he jogged out to his Bronco and pulled out the cooler he'd bought to replace the one that had been used to inter his father.

When he reentered the store the toys looked as frightened as the kids had, squeezed into a corner, looking up at him with wide, plastic eyes. "This is ridiculous," Nathan muttered, advancing on the toys that backed away from him as best as they could. Standing over them, he asked, "Are you going to go quietly?"

He propped the cooler open and gestured at it, suggesting that they jump in. When they didn't, he began picking them up by their plastic and fake fur limbs, and dropped them into the cooler one at a time. Most of them squeaked in alarm, and a few twisted in his hands and tried to kick at him, but the cooler was too deep for any of them to get back out again. Eventually he'd gathered them all and slammed the lid.

For a moment he gave the cooler a deliberating look, and decided that he didn't need to poke air holes into the lid, not like he and Duke had jar lids when gathering fireflies as very small boys. The toys weren't really alive, so they didn't need the air, and therefore he didn't need to ruin a decent second cooler in as many years.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile...<p>

Audrey prodded Andy into the station and immediately settled him at a table in an interview room. He looked up at her with terrified eyes, and it was her immediate impulse to begin to question him right then and there, while she could probably most easily get him to spill his guts. Nathan would kill her for such a blatant violation of proper procedure, though, so she just looked at the boy and asked him if he wanted a soda.

It was another ten minutes waiting before Andy's mother arrived, and Audrey met her in the hallway outside the room where the boy cooled his heels. The brunette woman, not even five feet tall, was frantic. "What's going on?" Mrs. Kale demanded to know, her voice quavering nearly as bad as Andy's had been.

Audrey gave the woman a calculating look, and tried to decide how far she could go without inciting Nathan's wrath. "Mrs. Kale," Audrey said flatly, standing close enough to loom over the woman, which was a novel thing for her. "You have a legal right to be here while I question your son. This, however, does not give you the right to interfere with the questioning."

"What?" the woman asked blankly, obviously itching to join her son and barely listening.

In response Audrey blocked the door with her body. "If you'd like to avoid legal consequences for obstructing a police investigation, I recommend thinking very carefully about what you say to influence your son's responses."

Her words finally seemed to sink in, and Mrs. Kale blanched. "I just want to be with him."

Audrey finally stepped back, letting her into the room. Mrs. Kale darted in and hugged her little boy before taking the chair next to him. Andy asked her questions, but she just shook her head and took his hand, squeezing it reassuringly.

She strode purposefully in after them, and took a seat across from mother and son. Looking Andy in the eye, she said, "Andy, I know what happened in the toy store is your fault."

Mrs. Kale opened her mouth to ask what, but Andy said, "I'm sorry," before she could get any words out. "I just thought it would be neat. Like **Toy Story**."

Staring at the boy, Audrey had a sudden epiphany. She and Nathan had suspected for weeks that the odd things happening in Haven were related, but they'd never been able to pull everything together. Looking at him now, she thought she finally had. "So, what happens, Andy? You watch movies, and..." She held her hands out. "Things happen?"

Looking ill, the boy nodded.

Mrs. Kale finally spoke up, giving Audrey a pleading look as she did. "He's troubled. You understand that, don't you? You and the chief, you've got a good reputation for helping people like Andy."

"We help troubled people when we can," she agreed reluctantly. "But I need to know more about Andy's trouble."

Andy sighed. "Okay, so, last year in November I watched that global warming movie by a politician my dad doesn't like. I thought really hard about how it might be if things really happened like that, and if we didn't get any more snow."

At first she couldn't quite grasp why he was telling her this, but then she thought back to what she'd said to Duke the day of the snow storm. "And we didn't. At least in Haven."

"Yeah," Andy agreed. "I didn't know that was 'cause of me, though. I didn't know I was doing stuff until-" He broke off suddenly, lower lip trembling. After a few seconds the boy began to cry, much to both women's surprise. He did an admirable job pulling himself together, though, and scrubbed away his tears before continuing. "I didn't know until Tami and I watched **Titanic** when Mom and Dad went out, and then she got scared by the bodies I imagined. I didn't mean to hurt her!"

Mrs. Kale put her arms around him, and Audrey couldn't blame her. "Hey, Andy, you didn't hurt her on purpose. You didn't mean for the bodies from the movie to show up, right?"

"No, but they did. And stuff keeps showing up. If I watch a movie, or read a book...not everything, but stuff interesting enough to think about afterwards."

Audrey shot Mrs. Kale a dirty look. "You don't do much to keep him from reading or watching things meant for adults, do you?" Duke had remarked upon how much the hedge animals incident had reminded him of a Stephen King novel, and she was beginning to realize that the castle and deer episodes at the very least had come from horror movies she'd seen parts of while channel surfing during sleepless nights.

Mrs. Kale just shrugged helplessly. "We don't know what to do about any of this," she confessed. "We can't just stop him from reading or-"

There was a sharp knock on the door, and Audrey looked over to see her partner standing there. When she got up the chair made a harsh noise as it scraped the tiles. "Excuse me for a minute."

* * *

><p>Nathan was still watching the Kales through the window when Audrey joined him in the hallway. Looking down at her, he said, "I hope it's safe to assume that you waited for his mother to get here before you started to question him?"<p>

She scowled at him. "Other than asking him if he wanted a soda, yes. What do you take me for?"

He didn't deign to answer that question. "What's the story here?"

Audrey's scowl transformed into a wan smile. "Funny that you should use the word story..." She spent the next couple of minutes explaining what she learned about Andy's trouble. "Now the question is what do we do to help them."

"Hmm." He opened the door and followed her into the room.

"Chief," Mrs. Kale greeted him, and he didn't bother correcting her. Correcting people was becoming tedious.

"Mrs. Kale. Andy."

He was about to suggest that they begin brainstorming a way to keep Andy's trouble from wreaking any more havoc in Haven when Mrs. Kale looked at him. "If we left Haven, would it...would Andy's trouble stop?"

Nathan honestly didn't know. The girl he'd given up the ability to feel for had gone as far away as Bangor trying to out-run her trouble, but it hadn't worked for her. And those who had gone farther a field hadn't checked back in to let them know how they were faring. "Why do you ask?"

Her eyes were dark with sadness for her son, and he thought something else as well. "David, my husband, he's been offered a job in California. He's been out of work for a while, and this is a big opportunity, but we haven't wanted to pull Andy and our younger boy Nicky out of their school...But if we leave and Andy's trouble goes away, maybe it would be for the best." Mrs. Kale looked down at her son. "Baby, I know you'd miss your friends, but-"

"Not that much," Andy said quickly. "I want to be normal more."

Looking at them, Nathan shrugged. "I guess you know what to do, then." He tried not to let anyone see how much he ached for another boy who just wanted to be like everyone else more than anything.

* * *

><p>They spoke to the Kales for a few minutes more, then allowed them both to leave.<p>

Once they were gone and Audrey and Nathan were back in their office, she began to feel deflated. Her expression must have said as much, because Nathan glanced at her face and asked, "What?"

Her hands fluttered up in a helpless gesture. "I can't believe that's it. All this weird stuff, and a ten-year-old boy with an overactive imagination is to blame."

"I can't believe you can't believe it," he replied with a snort.

Giving him a serious look, she asked, "Do you think going to California will cure him?"

"I don't know," Nathan admitted. "But if it doesn't, it's not our problem."

"Nathan, you're terrible!" she scolded, laughing as she did.

"I know he's terrible, but why, exactly?" a voice asked, making them both look up. Duke stood in the doorway with a pair of paper bags in his hand. "We made too much chicken for lunch. Thought I'd share."

"Thanks," Nathan said gruffly, taking the smaller bag when offered it.

Duke nodded slightly and pulled two cardboard boxes out of the bigger bag, and handed one to her. "Now, what did Nathan do?"

"Do?" Audrey asked, opening the still warm box of chicken. "Nothing. He merely suggested that it'd be great if troubled people left Haven so they're someone else's problem."

"That sounds like a good idea to me," Duke surprised her by saying.

"Okay, you're both terrible," she muttered before filling her mouth. Duke hadn't given in to her begging for his secret grilled chicken recipe, but the first bite renewed her determination to get it out of him.

Both men looked at each other and shrugged, making her roll her eyes.

"She's too annoyed to tell you what happened," Nathan said, waving a fork. He then proceeded to fill Duke in about what had just happened. Audrey listened, wondering why he was suddenly playing nice with his arch rival. She shrugged it off internally, figuring that the chicken was just that good.

"I bet you're both glad this is over with," Duke said. He'd scooted a chair next to Audrey's, and was trying to steal part of the roll she hadn't eaten. He sighed when she pushed his hand away.

"That is an understatement," she declared. "This has been awful."

"It could have been worse," Nathan said quietly, making them both turn to look at him.

"How?"

"Instead of bringing mostly innocuous things to life, it could have been more like more horrific for everyone. What if he was a bigger horror fan?"

Audrey shuddered. But she thought of something and gave her partner a hard stare. "That day months ago, what did you see when I helped Jackie with her wounds?"

For a long moment Nathan said nothing. Then, in a low voice, almost too quiet to be heard, he said, "A gymnast."

At which point Duke threw his hands up and exclaimed, "Nathan, you're still not over that? It was more than 25 years ago!"

"What?" Audrey asked blankly, looking from one man to the other.

"When we were little there was this famous gymnast, Mary Lou Retton. You're probably too young to remember her. Anyway, for a short time gymnasts got thrust into the public spotlight and were briefly popular. Nathan's dad brought us to see some when there was a show at the Cumberland County Civic Center. We had front row tickets, and it was sort of exciting. And then...and then it got a little too exciting for poor Nathan," Duke concluded, giving him a pointed look.

"You can't just leave it like that," Audrey complained. "One of you continue the story."

Nathan sighed. "One of the gymnasts had an...accident. She tried something that didn't work out."

"And she landed on Nathan," Duke added. "Gymnasts are pretty small as adults go, but she'd built up some speed, and he and I were still pretty little ourselves back then. He got squashed but good." Duke gave him a sidelong look. "I didn't realize that you were still afraid of gymnasts, though."

"I don't want to talk about it anymore." Nathan's lips compressed into a thin, stubborn line.

"You're making this up," Audrey accused. They both shook their heads.

"At least I'm not afraid of bananas," Nathan told Duke spitefully. Duke's cheeks flushed a dull red.

"Wait, you _weren't_ screwing with me when you said that?" Audrey asked. She waited for them to explain that, but they both looked uncomfortable and said nothing. Giving up, she said, "Okay, so it's good that we didn't have our worst fears running around. But it would have been nice if he'd had better taste in stories."

"What would have been better, in your opinion?" Nathan asked, fork hanging in the air as he gave her a curious look.

"**True Blood**-" she started to say, but they both groaned. "What?"

"Only you would think it would be awesome to have a bunch of vampires and werewolves running around," Duke griped.

Nathan gave him a look. "I honestly don't know how you compete with her fantasies. I've seen the cast photos on Laverne's calendar."

"Don't remind me."

"You guys suck," Audrey complained, sticking her tongue out at them.

"But not as much as vampires," Duke retorted.

Nathan laughed, and she gave them both dirty looks.

It was nice to have the mystery that had consumed their lives for so many weeks resolved, even if it meant enduring their teasing. At least they were getting along for the moment, she reflected, even if it wouldn't last.

* * *

><p>an:

Dear Santa,  
>We're been very good fic writers this year. Please fill our stockings with feedback, and leave a Duke for each of us under the tree. You don't need to wrap him. Uh, them.<br>Love,  
>NeoX<p> 


	13. The Last Weekend of September

Late September  
>Saturday<p>

The Dunkin Donuts on River Street had just undergone its tenth year remodeling. Nathan had seen that it was open for the first time in two weeks and idly wondered how much money had been lost while the store had been shut down for the mandatory updating. Still, he had to admit it looked better than it had, with the new paint, flooring, and counter layout. The coffee zombies seemed not to notice the change, though.

He ordered a regular coffee, and was only moderately surprised to hear the accented voice behind him order dessert in a cup. Jess smiled shyly at him as he moved over to make more room for her at the narrow cashier's window. He nodded, and accepted his coffee from the clerk. Jess's concoction was nearly ready at the same time. She thanked the clerk that served her and took the top off of the covered confection.

Nathan laughed quietly as Jess came up from her caffination. She was sporting a very handsome whipped cream mustache. Her eyes went wide at the unusual sight of the serious detective laughing, then she put her hand up to her upper lip and saw the foam on her fingers. She grinned impishly and licked the cream from her lip.

"I don't know, Jess, it suited you," the quiet man said.

"Ah, yes, but it wouldn't look nearly as good when if melted and ran down my chin." The dark haired woman motioned to one of the tables scattered around the small shop, and Nathan reluctantly followed her to one. They both sat down with their chosen beverages in front of them.

"What have you been doing lately?" he asked, at a bit of a loss as to how to start a friendly conversation. There had been an unusual amount of emotional upheaval between them. Still, he hoped that Jess and he could still be friends.

"Working at the hospital and trying to set my house back in order. I was in the attic the other day and it looks like squirrels got in. There was a nest up there, and the insulation is a mess." Jess frowned, presumably thinking of the unwanted rodent house guests.

"Was it only the insulation?"

She nodded. "Looks like one of the vents had a broken slat. That's how they got in. Fortunately, they decided to nest away from the electrical wiring. It's just a gigantic mess. The vent has already been fixed, but it's going to take a while to clean up the rest of it."

Nathan considered this. He did owe her after the incident in the bar. "Do you need some help? I'm not the handy man that Louis is, but I can handle some insulation."

"If you would, I certainly wouldn't turn you away. I expect since it has already snowed once this year, it will be a cold winter and I don't want to heat northern Maine." She grimaced, probably imagining the oil bill if she didn't get it fixed soon.

"I can come over today, if you want. Or I'm free next weekend." Nathan took a long draught of his coffee. Some how in the few moments they'd been sitting together his coffee cup had somehow magically emptied itself. He didn't remember drinking any of it save the last few mouthfuls.

Jess smiled at him, and he thought of her unibrowed prowler for some reason. "I'd like that. I planned on spending today hauling out the old insulation and laying down the new stuff. I wouldn't mind the company. Although, I know you are a busy man and working with fiberglass is not fun."

This time it was Nathan who winced. He remembered from untroubled times how annoying fiberglass was to work with. "Let me go home and get some gloves. Then I'll be over." He picked up his paper cup, stood up and pushed in his chair. "See you in about an hour?"

"I look forward to it, Nathan." Jess saluted him with her container as he walked away.

* * *

><p>The old blue Bronco sputtered and died in Jess's driveway. The vehicle had been Nathan's staunchest ally for most of his adult life, but she was getting tired. The rip in the front seat had started to get wider every time Audrey sat on it, and the old girl was starting to not want to turn over as the mornings got colder and colder. Still, the truck had served him well and he was loath to part with his big blue mechanical friend. Especially not before Duke got rid of that horribly yellow Land Rover that was as old, if not older than the Bronco. Of course, the Land Rover had a tire up on the situation, as it were, given it had sat in storage for years while the pirate hunted treasure.<p>

The door to the truck slammed shut loud enough to alert Jess to his presence. Thick canvas gloves were clasped under his arms, and thick work boots were laced tightly around his ankles. A ragged denim shirt ensured that his arms would be protected from the small glass shards that would take up residence everywhere.

Jess met him at the door, and let him inside. The house was much as he remembered it. The pleasant smell of lilacs emanated from the parlor, and the smell of apples and cinnamon would be in the kitchen. The main hallway of the house had a staircase that led up to the bedrooms on the second floor. The hardwood floor caught the light and glowed warmly in the morning light. As always, Jess kept the house spotless. The shafts of sunlight coursing through the windows didn't even illuminate dust in the air. There were a few small changes, a picture changed, or a chair moved, but mostly everything was as it had been when he was last there.

Well, everything but the giant pile of pink fluff at the base of the stairs that was slowly succumbing to gravity and leaking off the canvas it had been gathered on. Jess looked at it and grimaced. "Unfortunately that's only part of the problem." She headed up the stairs and motioned for Nathan to follow him.

Time in Quebec had not lessened any of Jess's charms, he noticed, as he watched her ascend the stairs ahead of him. Jess was still very well proportioned. He decided that rather than having some of Jess's more fascinating bits stare at him cheek to cheek, he might want to change his perspective. He hurried up the stairs a little faster so that he was now eyeball to clavicle with Jess's shoulder blades. It was still a nice view, but not quite as distracting.

Jess slipped aside when they reached the landing and went into her bedroom. Nathan waited, assuming she was going to come back into the room. After a few moments Jess poked her head out around the corner of the door. "Nathan, the attic hatch is in my bedroom closet."

Nathan reluctantly followed her into the bedroom, idly thinking that the last time he was there he hadn't been nervous at all to enter it. In the closet Jess had set up a ladder and was quickly disappearing up into the attic through a hatch in the ceiling. He carefully maneuvered around the ladder and joined her.

When his head cleared the hatch the first thing that came to mind was a memory of a picture of Alice Rickham's hamster cage. Alice had had a small teddy bear hamster when she was ten, and used to cover the cage with an old bathrobe. One night the hamster got industrious and chewed up the bathrobe and pulled it into the cage. The bathrobe had been a light pink, and the next morning it was the only thing that could be seen in the cage. The entire cage had been full of pink froth from the bathrobe. Alice had taken a picture of it and had brought it and the hamster to show and tell. Jess's attic looked rather like that hamster cage.

"Wow."

"Succinct as ever, Nathan. Now you know why I needed help." Jess handed him a face mask. She was sitting in the section that had been cleared out. Fresh insulation was well contained between the stringers and held down by a few 1x12s. Jess stood on one of the wide boards. Nathan hauled himself out of the closet and onto another. Fortunately, it didn't tip under his weight.

"You are lucky that you didn't have anything up here for them to destroy." Nathan was still eying the chaos that surrounded them. It was like being trapped in Aunt Emma's Jello mould.

"The attic is divided into three sections across the house. The other two are fine, just this one had visitors." Jess frowned. "Although, this is more than enough. There's only about 8 feet more to the eves." The cleared space behind them was about 2 feet wide.

Nathan looked around one last time and grinned. "Kind of looks like a cotton candy factory exploded."

Jess shook her head. "Yeah, but this mess isn't sweet."

* * *

><p>Together the two of them attacked the fiberglass. Nathan braved the other side of the hatch where the insulation had yet to be tamed. He put on his gloves and started gathering the wayward fluff into a large garbage bag, which Jess obligingly held for him. He imagined that the large fluff pile at the base of the stairs probably couldn't be contained.<p>

Jess must have read the thought. "It was very hard to hold the bag and the ladder while cleaning up this side of the hatch. I ended up dropping the tarp on the floor and dropping the insulation down on it. Then I pulled it down the stairs. I didn't want to have to do it all over again for the rest of the attic, so I'm happy you came over."

Nathan repositioned himself, carefully ensuring he was balanced on the edge of the hatch. "How'd you lay the new insulation?" He grabbed more pink foam and tossed it into the garbage bag that snapped open in Jess's hands to catch it.

"Carefully. I needed somewhere to stand and it seemed best to start with the smaller side of the attic. Thankfully Grandpa used to store his sea chest up here so it has the most board to stand on. Be careful, there are only a couple boards going across the stringers."

Nathan nodded. Jess closed up the garbage bag and then threw it down the hatch, where it rolled out of site. The snapping sound as she opened the next one was startlingly loud in the small space. Absently Nathan scratched the back of his wrist with one gloved hand. The elastic in the wrist of the glove was looser and it wasn't held as tightly to his skin as it was on the other wrist. He worried how much fiberglass had already made it under his skin.

Jess held out the bag and Nathan mechanically started filling it again. The two worked in companionable silence. One of the things Nathan truly loved about Jess was that she never felt the need to fill the silence with extra words. Audrey sometimes was like a bird, chirping constantly, always making noise. It came as little surprise that she had found some companionship with Duke, who could not be silent if paid to be so. Nathan knew, he once out of desperation paid Duke to be silent for one hour in detention. He couldn't do it. The two of them could talk the ears of a jack rabbit. Nathan's family was, on the whole, quiet. There had been entire days when he and his father hadn't talked beyond pleasantries.

Together they made quick work of the remaining mess, and, in spite of the attic's best attempt, Nathan did not fall through the ceiling. There had been one moment when a board had started to tip beneath his weight and he was sure he was going to do a quick impersonation of Chevy Chase in **National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation**, but Jess had caught him. He was surprised at how strong she was, though he probably shouldn't have been.

At the base of the ladder, there was a large collection of trash bags. Nathan angled himself down the ladder and amidst the trash bags. The pile of bags went up to his knees. He grabbed several of them and took them down the stairs and out into the garage. Then he stuffed them into a trailer Jess had kept to take things to the dump. He went back to the house and she had already had the pile at the foot of the stairs bagged, and she met him in the kitchen. Together they took the last bag out and hurled it into the trailer.

The two returned to the kitchen and Jess made chicken salad for the two of them. "I know it's probably not up to Duke's culinary standards..."

Nathan cut her off. "Can we not talk about Duke? Anything about Duke? I'm tired of hearing about him. I'm tired of seeing him. I'm just tired of him."

Jess nodded gravely. "I didn't know things between you were that bad."

Nathan rolled his eyes. "They aren't, really. Duke is still playing at being nice for Audrey. I don't think it will last. I just get to hear her talk about him all day long and I'm tired of it. I don't even thing she knows she's doing it half the time anymore."

"Two people freshly in love, well, the do kind of center on each other," Jess commented.

Nathan tried very hard not to remember how distracting he had found Jess before she left Haven. "The shiny will wear off sooner or later."

"Tell me Nathan, do you think that troubles are getting worse?" Jess gnawed on a finger nail as she asked, one of the few times he'd seen her vulnerable.

The big detective gave it some thought. "I'm not sure. Dad had some really horrifying stories from when I was a kid. We haven't seen anyone set people on fire, or melt them into puddles. We haven't seen anyone eating anyone else's eyes. These were all things he had told me happened. But he never talked about possessed puzzle boards, copy-cat murders, or life-stealing sirens. I don't know if the troubles we are seeing are worse, or if just different troubles have 'activated' this time around."

"Maybe we can get a large pharmaceutical company to give everyone anti-depressants in the water. Perhaps the governments department of..." she paused, searching. "Homeland security could pay for it."

Nathan laughed. "I can see it now. The men in black dumping hundreds of pills down Miller's pond telling everyone that there's nothing to see here, move along."

"Why Miller's pond?" the dark haired woman asked.

"Miller's pond connects into the aquifer that provides water to the bulk of the town's wells. We found that out when Thomas Miller decided to start dumping the dye from the old cake factory into the pond thinking that he could get rid of it without harming the environment. The dye was used to color frosting. What happened was that 80% of the town ended up with pink water. Wal-Mart ran out of white underwear and socks after the third day before we found out what was going on." Nathan smiled. "I was lucky. I was in college when that happened, and only got to see the after effects. I don't think my father had thrown out that much clothing in years."

"That must have been quite a sight."

"It was almost as impressive as the mess in your attic. After we finish here, do you want to see how much new insulation we can lay down?" Nathan asked.

Jess, who had just taken a bite of the sandwich, nodded. She accelerated her chewing, and then swallowed. "If you want to. I know you must be busy."

"It's ok. I like helping you." Nathan paused and then blushed. "I mean, we're friends, right?" The worst thing, he thought, was that regardless of whether it was Jess or Audrey, he sounded like a little kid when he tried to talk with them. An awkward little kid, and he hadn't been one of those in years.

She looked at him speculatively. "I hope so, Nathan. I hope so."

Together they did the dishes before returning to the attic. Jess once again climbed up the ladder, and Nathan started tossing up the rolls of insulation. The pink panther stared back at him. He was sure there was a message there, he just wasn't in tune with his inner cartoon enough to receive it. They couldn't put all the rolls up there, so once they had enough to put a big dent on the work, Nathan went up the ladder. Jess took possession of the box cutter that she was using to cut up the insulation.

The floor worked out well, going smoothly. It was done quickly and efficiently. The rest of it, though, could have tried the patience of a saint. If the insulation wasn't falling down on their heads, it was popping out of the rafters. Half of the little bars used to hold the insulation in place went flying across the attic to land in the pink sea below, some never to be seen again. And the boards were always just too far away to allow the two to reach where they needed to put in the bars.

And yet, they didn't kill each other, or curse each other, even though Nathan was sorely tempted when Jess nearly undid an hour's worth of work by accidentally springing one of the bars. They were laughing at the scene. It had been so long since he remembered what it was like to be around someone that wasn't angry or angst-ridden. Jess's cursed attic was a bit or normalcy in a highly abnormal life.

When they both finally descended into the closet, it was with the satisfaction that the attic was fixed, and the insulation was well and truly staying put...Or at least it would until the next time a rodent moved in.

* * *

><p>Sunday<p>

A knock on Audrey's door pulled her face out of the paper that she'd been reading. Since it had mostly been bad news, about the economy, partisan politics, and about a missing twenty-year-old girl, she didn't really mind.

Duke leered at her, making her realize that she was still in her robe. "Hey, get dressed."

"How come?" she asked, snaking an arm around his waist and pulling him in so she could shut the door.

"There's something going on in town this morning that I thought you'd like to see."

"Really?" she asked, yanking open her dresser drawers as she spoke. "Care to give me a clue?"

"Whether or not I give you a clue depends on if you were planning to read the sports section of your paper."

"Hardly."

She spent the next couple of minutes pulling on a pair of jeans and a gothic print thermal shirt that she loved but would never ever wear to work. When she turned around, Duke presented her with a paper boat.

"What, no paper hats to go with it?" she asked, smiling up at him.

"Give me two minutes and the classifieds."

"Uh, no, that's okay. Really." She studied the paper boat in her hands. "Tell me that our outing won't involve giant spiders or clowns."

He looked confused for a moment. "What, that old story about what happened in Derry? Totally exaggerated. But I promise, no clowns or giant spiders."

"Okay then."

"And Audrey, I like your casual Sunday look," Duke told her. "It says 'carefree morning with my boyfriend,' rather than 'hi, I'm Officer Parker and I'm here to help.'"

She gave him a mocking look. "Fashion tips from a guy who owns more denim shirts than I own pairs of shoes? That's rich."

"I'm going to have to pretend to take offense at that."

"At least you didn't say I looked nice," she added.

"Not after the last time," he said, leading her out the door.

* * *

><p>When they got out of Duke's truck a short time later, she noticed that they were at one of the small tasteful parks in town. This one, unlike the others, had a pond surrounding an island. Several well-fed ducks used the islet as their home, and if they weren't in the park begging, you could see them preening their feathers on the small irregularly shaped piece of land. It was where the ducks were largely huddled, watching the water warily.<p>

The birds had good reason to be nervous: several tiny boats filled the waters they normally splashed in. On the shore scores of children, most of them elementary or middle school aged, stood clutching radio controllers.

"Is it a race?" she asked, stunned by how different all the boats looked. None of them looked like they must have in their boxes. Even from a distance she could see how long it must have taken each of the young owners to personalize their small watercraft. Somehow she knew that they'd used enamel paints so the designs wouldn't wash off.

"Sort of."

"Sort of?"

Duke shrugged. "It's part race, part...I don't know, what would you call it when they judge floats in a parade?"

"A beauty contest?" she suggested.

"I don't think that's the term they use, but yes, the boats are judged on looks."

"Who judges?" He turned her around and pointed her in the direction of the judges' table. "Ah. Are their prizes involved?"

"Gift certificates, I think."

"Did you and Nathan do this when you were kids?"

"Alas, no. This tradition is only about ten years old."

"That's a shame."

"Yeah. I think it would have been a lot of fun. Except for it being one more way for Nathan to best me publicly, that is."

"He bested you at...things?" Audrey asked, trying not to sound shocked. Clearly she hadn't given their rivalry enough consideration.

Duke snorted. "You haven't been on the wrong side of his competitive streak yet, I take it."

"I guess not."

Someone with a bullhorn announced that the race was about to begin, so they focused on the water. Over the cheers of the crowd, they each decided on a boat to root for. She picked one that had a skull and crossbones painted on it, and Duke selected one done up in tiger stripes. Their voices added to the cheers as the race began in earnest.

Neither of their chosen boats placed, but Audrey's was closer to winning. "I guess I should have picked a pirate ship too," he lamented. "That boat obviously didn't have a tiger in its tank after all."

"You know, Nathan enjoys the hell out of calling you a pirate," Audrey remarked.

"The hypocrite," Duke scoffed. When she looked at him, he elaborated. "Do you know how I met him?"

"Kindergarten?" Audrey guessed. "He said he's known you since you were five."

"Good guess, but no. My mom knew his, and somehow I got invited to his fifth birthday party even though we'd never even met each other before. I think Mom only said I'd go to be polite, because she kept telling me that we didn't have to stay long. She said it often enough to make me start imagining all sorts of terrible things, like little kids dressed up in their Sunday clothes quietly sitting around eating a cake as dry as dust being served by a clown.

"But when we got to Nathan's house, it turned out to be a themed birthday party: a pirate party. Everyone got to dress up as pirates since they were Nathan's favorite thing ever, and the chief even hired a guy with a pretty good fake wooden leg and a parrot as a story-teller."

"Sounds like a good time."

"It really was. And it's hard to believe he used to love pirates now."

"Sure is. I suggested going to a **Pirates of the Caribbean** marathon at that second-run theater in Derry once, and he ranted for a good five minutes about how people shouldn't admire pirates because they were terrible criminals and all-around awful individuals."

Duke cast her a slightly hurt look. "You were going to go to the movies with him?"

She pushed against his shoulder. "I was going to invite you too."

"Oh. That makes it okay then."

Just then the person with the bullhorn announced the winners of the design competition, which had been judged while they were talking. The tiger boat took first place.

Duke pumped his fist in the air. "Looks like I picked a winner after all." Then he looked down at her. "I always do."

"Do you?" she asked archly.

"Well, most of the time." He grinned at her. "And my track record has been improving as of late."

"Speaking of later, are you going to be by tonight?"

"Uh, no, I'm not actually. I have stuff to do tonight that I can't get out of."

"Oh." Audrey was disappointed but decided not to ask him what he was up to. She figured that it would be something boring, probably collecting an import, and possibly nothing she'd want to answer in a court of law that she'd had knowledge of.

"Aww, is that a pout?" he asked, teasing her. "I didn't know my absence was worthy of pouting."

"Really? You didn't know? I'm going to have to work on that, then."

"Tomorrow night I'll cook you dinner and let you force me to sit through some terrible supernatural romance movie. But please, nothing in the **Twilight** franchise." Duke gave a mock shudder.

"How about **Red Riding Hood**? Or **Blood and Chocolate**?"

"Werewolves? I guess so." He turned red when she stared at him. "I'm not supposed to know what those movies are about, am I? Oops. What can I say, I pay attention to movie previews."

"So, to make up for not being around tonight, you're going to cook and watch a movie. What are you going to do to bribe me not to tell Nathan about your extensive knowledge of fantasy-themed chick flicks?"

"Oh, I'm sure I'll think of something..." he told her, grinning wolfishly himself.

* * *

><p>A knock on Audrey's door late that afternoon had her immediately thinking that maybe Duke had changed his mind, so she had to hide her disappointment when she opened the door and found Nathan there instead. But when she saw the smile on his face, she forgot all about being unhappy about Duke's other plans.<p>

"What's up?" she asked, giving him a curious look. It wasn't like him to look so happy, so she sensed that something big was afoot.

"I got a phone call from Jess a little while ago-" Audrey felt excitement bubble up in her at the thought of him being so pleased to have spoken to Jess, but before she could say anything rash, he went on. "Guess what. Tami Lawrence woke up this morning."

Eyes big, Audrey tried to take that in. "You're kidding."

Nathan shook his head, still grinning. "No. From what Jess told me, Tami is both awake and coherent. A few of the nurses are calling it a miracle."

"Wow. That's just...wow."

"The family asked that there not be any visitors for a couple days, or else I'd suggest going over to the hospital."

"You weren't thinking of questioning her, were you?" Audrey asked, brow furrowing. "We know what happened, so..."

"No. I mostly just wanted the family to know that we hadn't forgotten about her."

"That's a nice gesture, Nathan. We should definitely stop by the hospital this week."

"Yeah." He glanced around, but Audrey didn't realize that he was looking for Duke until he said, "I assume you and Duke have plans tonight?"

"Actually, we don't," Audrey admitted. "He has somewhere to be tonight."

"Can I interest you in a hockey game, then?" Nathan asked, not quite meeting her eyes. "It's the Derry Devil Rays against the Haven Arctic Cats."

"Is there really such a thing as an arctic cat?" Audrey blurted out. "I thought it was just-"

He shook his head. "You're thinking right. When the town wanted to start a team, Arctic Cat agreed to be a sponsor...if the town named the team after them."

"Ah. Like the Mighty Duck movie." She tilted her head and smiled. "So, Nathan, has anyone in town ever saved a community center by having a break dancing contest too?"

He just gave her a blank look, which made her sigh. "I'm sorry, Nathan, I actually have something I need to do tonight myself."

"Some sort of errand Duke isn't letting you get to otherwise?" he asked a bit too sharply for her liking.

"It's not like that, Nathan."

"Isn't it?"

She silently began to count to ten, and reminded herself that his reaction would be normal from a female friend who was upset about not hanging out often enough because of a boyfriend too, so not necessarily an indicator that he was jealous. "So you're saying I'm being a bad friend. I'm sorry. Why don't you get the hockey schedule to me, and I'll make sure I'm free in the near future."

To her surprise he only looked madder. "You don't need to make time for me because you feel bad for me. I could ask Dwight to go."

_What the hell do you want me to say, Nathan?_ she thought in irritation but didn't ask aloud. "That sounds like a good idea. Have fun."

"Yeah," he said shortly before stalking away.

Audrey stood there, shaking her head slightly. Nathan could be hard to be friends with, especially considering that he left so much unsaid and she had to guess what he was thinking so often.

* * *

><p>That Night<p>

When Duke arrived at the church, he got an uneasy feeling walking up the steps. God didn't really strike liars dead, did he? The Rev was standing in the doorway, and he waved him forward.

"Mr. Crocker, I'm glad you decided to come speak to me."

Duke nodded. "While I was in California to see Evi home to her family, I gave what you said at the police station a lot of thought. You were right, I realized, I do need your help. If it wasn't for the troubled people in this town, she'd still be alive right now."

"Then you understand why I feel it is my duty to eradicate them," the Rev stated, watching Duke nod again. "When they're gone no more innocent people like your wife will fall victim to them."

"I'm glad to hear you say that Reverend. More than anything I want the people responsible for Evi's death to pay for their crimes."

He had to repress a shudder when the Rev clapped him on the shoulder. "With your help, they'll pay."

"I'm counting on it."

The Rev looked down at his watch. "I'll pick you up tomorrow, and we'll talk more about what you can do to help our efforts. Eight o'clock?"

"Eight o'clock."

"Good. I trust you'll stay for tonight's service?"

"Oh, uh, sure."

"The last pew should be empty. Visitors usually sit there, but I hope you'll be joining us regularly."

"Of course."

Duke tried not to look uncomfortable as he shuffled into the church after the Rev. When he'd arranged a time to meet, he hadn't realized that the Rev intended for him to attend a service, but if that's one of the things it took to get into the man's good graces, he'd happily sit through several sermons full of fire and brimstone.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile...<p>

Audrey picked up a photocopy and looked at the face in the picture. A smiling seventeen-year-old girl stared back at her. The girl's name was Lucy Ripley. So were the girls in the six other photocopies on Audrey's table.

When she'd gotten the idea to e-mail school districts to ask if they had any alumni named Lucy Ripley, it had seemed like a good way to track the elusive woman who had given Haven's Lucy her memories. It was only once she started to get replies from accommodating SAU offices with photocopies of yearbook photos that she realized that the plan had several flaws. The first was that she didn't know how old the real Lucy was. The second was that her plan could only work if the woman's maiden name was Ripley...and considering that she didn't know how old Lucy had been, she had no idea what her marital status might have been at the time her life had been Xerox'd. Or if she could have married since which would make her no longer a Ripley, either.

Looking down at the array of Lucys, Audrey began to become aware of a tension headache building up, and wished that she had gone to Nathan to the hockey game. He wouldn't have been put out with her then, and she wouldn't have wasted the evening on a hopeless plan.

Gritting her teeth, Audrey picked up a likely photocopy and began to mentally compose an e-mail that would convince the already gracious school districts to give her a clue as to where the graduate ended up after high school. It was probably a fruitless effort, but the night was already wasted so she felt obliged to forge on anyway.


	14. Into The Woods

_now back to a slightly altered reality already in progress..._

* * *

><p>The Next Day<p>

Audrey dove for the alarm the second it went off, and then realized that Duke wasn't there to be woken up. That felt strange because she was already growing used to feeling like he should be there when she woke up in the morning. She'd read that it only takes two weeks for a habit to become ingrained, and thinking of telling him this left her laughing to herself as she got dressed.

No sooner had she sat down to a healthy bowl of Count Chocula did her phone start to ring. One morning she was going to have to demand that Nathan stop being so eager to fill her in over cases before she even got to the station.

"Yes?" she asked, watching her cereal begin to turn to mush.

"You've heard about the possibility of there being a serial killer up here," Nathan said abruptly. It wasn't a question.

"Not living under a rock, yes, I have. There's been what, six murders with dismembered bodies?"

"Seven," Nathan corrected her.

Frowning, she realized that there must have been another body discovered since she'd last watched the news, probably the missing dental hygienist. "Seven. It looks like Maine has its first serial killer."

"That's why I'm on the way to get you. Someone spotted him, just before getting knocked out after chasing him."

Audrey bit back a remark about that someone having more balls than brains. "He's here in Haven? It can't be the serial killer then."

"Why not?" She thought she detected a note of amusement in her partner's voice.

"Nathan, this is Haven. What are the odds of this assault _not_ having to do with someone troubled?"

"What's to stop the troubled from being serial killers?"

"There's..." She paused, stymied. "I'll be waiting out front."

"Be there in ten."

"And Nathan? You owe me a muffin or something."

"Why?"

"While you've talked to me about this, my breakfast committed suicide."

There was a long pause. "I'll pick up donuts."

"All right."

She'd rather of gone downstairs and have waffles, but a donut would have to do. Scrapping the cereal into the trash, she gave it a rueful look before muttering, "$3.89 a box, and I'll be lucky to ever get to eat a bowl of it in peace."

* * *

><p>It was finally cool enough to break out her favorite leather jacket, so she'd shrugged it on with pleasure before locking up and waiting for Nathan. She normally loved days like that, when the summer heat had finally burned off and left the air feeling crisp, but most nice early fall days didn't have her keyed up, worried that there was a serial killer lurking. Even Boston had been short on suspected serial killers. Troubled people she could deal with because the things they did weren't usually done on purpose, but a serial killer was a very different thing. You didn't get to be a serial killer without enjoying the taking of lives.<p>

The thought of what they were about to do made her irritable, so she stayed quiet rather than risking taking her mood out on Nathan. He didn't seem to be inclined to talk either, not that it was surprising, and hadn't even said anything when she'd jumped out of his truck intent on getting more coffee before they did anything else. She'd been drinking her first when he picked her up, and had had a second on the ride over, carefully transported in a disposable cup she'd requisitioned from the Gull.

As she hurried back to where Nathan was parked, she passed by a frayed poster for the blood drive she'd cajoled both Nathan and Duke into participating in with her two months before. They had been monumentally grumpy that day, and had nearly come to blows when Duke had made a stupid joke - "oh, are you positive?" - when they'd learned that two of them shared the same blood type. She made a mental note to suggest that someone take it down since yet another blood drive would occur soon enough, and people got hurt in Haven frequently enough to need all the volunteers they could get; she didn't want it to look like a permanent fixture and have people miss the next announcement. It would have to wait, though, because Nathan was giving her a disapproving look and she could feel a lecture coming on.

"Third cup of coffee," Nathan said, pointing at the waxed paper cup in Audrey's hand. Apparently he actually did have an opinion about her coffee consumption after all.

It was hard not to tell him to mind his business, or perhaps accuse him of having taken a position with the coffee police too. "Yeah, I know."

"Sleeping at all lately?"

"A few hours a night," she said, annoyed by the note of paternalism in his voice and suddenly filled with the evil impulse to explain just how she'd been filling the rest of the hours over the past few weeks. Some of those had been taken up by other equally futile efforts to learn more about Lucy, but just as many were spent with Duke. Looking at his concerned face, though, made her squelch the desire. He meant well. "I'm good, though, getting a lot of stuff done. You?" She almost asked him how the hockey game had been, but decided against being the one to bring it up.

"Me? I rarely have trouble sleeping. What would keep me up?"

"You did recently get demoted, there was anarchy at the station and the new police chief died right in front of you, then we spent weeks being plagued by crap out of bad movies," she pointed out, wondering if he was being flip. If not, she envied him. "Plus, your ex-girlfriend showed up out of the blue recently." _Not to mention the whole scene you caused at the Gull even more recently,_ she added to herself.

"So?" Nathan asked blankly.

"O_kay_."

Shaking her head slightly, Audrey led the way to where their witness was waiting for them. The witness, nursing a badly bruised head, told them that the person who had thrown him out of the shed after he'd tried to chase after him and an as of yet to be identified teenage boy had inhuman strength. He also agreed that the police sketch that all the coastal police departments had been sent copies of to show people looked a lot like the man he'd seen. However, he seemed skeptical of Dwight's claim that it had probably had been a bear that attacked him, and Audrey couldn't blame him.

She left their witness to Dwight, and walked over to Nathan, who had just spent time talking to someone who worked in the store. "The boy's name is Rory Campbell," Nathan announced before proceeding to tell her the rest of what the waitress told him. "There's blood over by the shed, and blood here."

"We need to call his parents," Audrey said, only to be told that his father was already on his way.

The blood dabbling fallen leaves made a trail, which she and Nathan began to follow. At the end of the trail they discovered a leather bracelet stamped with the word "forever" caught up in low branches. The blood on the bracelet gave her an uneasy feeling, even before Nathan suggested that the serial killer had dragged the missing teenager off into the woods to kill him.

"We're going to have to search these woods," Audrey told him, feeling despair welling up inside her. The woods stretched on as far as the eye could see, and it already felt like finding the boy in time would be an impossible feat. There was just too much ground to cover.

"Probably want to get a couple more people down here," Nathan suggested.

"Why? After what happened at the station, who can we really trust?" she asked stubbornly. As overwhelmed as she felt, she wasn't ready to call for official back up.

"A case like this...there's procedure."

"Yeah, well being locked in our own police station, and getting shot at, that was procedure. No. We've got to do things our way. From now on, Nathan, it's just you and me."

* * *

><p>Nathan stared at her, feeling dizzy for a second. Only in his most fevered dreams had she ever said anything remotely like that to him before. Maybe it was a sign that things were cooling off with Duke after she'd gotten her fill of irritation from the pirate.<p>

Audrey then ruined the moment for him by going on. "We can't trust that other cops are on our side. So we can only rely on people we know to be friendly to the troubled."

If only she really meant it'd just be she and him, he found himself thinking again, before giving himself a mental shake. It was a nice romantic notion, but no way to look for a potential serial killer. You and me against the world in a dangerous situation often got either the you, the me, or both killed.

Before he could argue with her about the wisdom of that, Rory's father showed up. Audrey showed him the bracelet they'd found, and he confirmed that it belonged to his son.

Despite his doubts, Nathan found himself telling Mr. Campbell that it was best for everyone if they kept the investigation local. Internally, he was torn. Staties with dogs sounded like they could be a great deal of help on one hand, but far too likely to cause big problems if the killer turned out to be troubled on the other.

"The man who was last seen with Rory, there's a chance that he could be-" Audrey began hesitantly.

"Troubled?" Campbell asked immediately.

When Audrey asked if he knew about the troubles, Rory's father replied that he'd lived in Haven his whole life, as if it was self-evident that he did. Then he insisted that he come to, saying over their objections that he'd been a marine, and a shadow operation couldn't be run with just two people. He went for his gun, making it abundantly clear that he intended to go into the woods with them or on his own.

Then Dwight insisted that he come as well, which Nathan immediately objected to as well. Complaining to Audrey, he said, "Just you and me became you, me, and them." As soon as the words were out of his mouth he realized that he sounded jealous, so he quickly added, "Actually, it might help, having a couple more people. Assuming they don't die."

Audrey frowned for a second before pulling out her phone. "I need to make a couple of calls."

She stepped away before Nathan could even ask her who she was calling. _Duke, no doubt_, he thought darkly. He couldn't even escape the man out in the woods.

* * *

><p>Even as she stood and half-listened to the dial tone, Audrey stained to hear if there were any noises in the woods that would help them narrow down where they'd look. The woods were quiet in the sort of way that suggested that all the life in them were competing to hold their breath the longest. A forest that still was seldom a good thing in Audrey's experience, and it made her uneasy.<p>

At last a voice answered, sounding a bit surprised. "Audrey?"

"Uh, hi," Audrey said back, wondering how she could phrase her question. "Is this a bad time, Jess?"

"No, not at all," Jess replied easily.

"Nathan and I have a problem, and I was hoping you might be open to helping out."

"What sort of problem?"

"We're going to be tracking a person in the woods. Two people, actually. They might be together."

"Are they lost?" Jess suddenly sounded concerned.

Audrey cringed. Jess was expecting missing hikers, not a possible killer. "No. We're afraid that one of them has kidnapped the other."

"Oh." There was a long pause, and Audrey wondered if there was a chance in hell that Jess would be willing to take part in their manhunt. "If this is that dangerous a person, I'll have to bring my shotgun."

"Just as long as you have a permit."

"I do."

"Thanks." Audrey went on to explain where to meet them, wondering all along how much the fact that it was Nathan who needed help factored into Jess's wiliness to come.

The Teagues required almost no convincing at all, which made her feel more optimistic as she entered the final phone number.

* * *

><p>The ocean lapped calmly at the beach below where Duke stood, waiting to be picked up. Not taking his own vehicle wasn't something he'd been eager to agree to, but in the end he decided that it wasn't a hill he wanted to die on. Especially when automatic-yet-pointless resistance would make it harder to get the answers he was willing to skulk around for.<p>

Although he'd normally welcome a call from his girl, for once Duke found himself unhappy when Audrey's name popped up on his phone's display while he stood there. He'd done his best to be cagey so far, but he had a feeling that she was about to do something to make him spill his secret.

"Hey," she greeted him.

"Audrey. What's up?"

"We're possibly hunting for a serial killer and a kidnapped teenager," Audrey told him. "And I was thinking that we could definitely use you here."

"You know, I wish that I could help, but I actually have plans, an extension of things from last night," Duke told her, wishing that helping her wouldn't interfere with his goals. Almost any other day would have had him complaining but there in minutes to lend a hand.

"Oh." There was a silence that stretched out for several seconds. "Is there anything that I can do to get you to break them?"

"I'm afraid not. Good luck with...everything." He hung up quickly, not wanting to give her time to wear him down, because with the reservations he already had it wouldn't have taken much to get him to change his mind.

Three long minutes later, another vehicle pulled up and came to a stop. The Rev nearly jumped out of it, and came over to where Duke was still standing. "Mister Crocker."

"Reverend," Duke replied, doing his absolute best to sound happy to see the man, despite hating his guts.

"There's been a change of plans," the Rev informed him abruptly.

"Oh?"

"We're going hunting."

"In the w-woods?" Duke found himself stammering, a thing that earned him a strange look from the Rev.

"Yes. There's something out there, and we need to exorcise it before it hurts someone."

_Something, or someone?_ Duke wondered. He'd lay odds on the latter, but he wasn't about to speak up and be the voice of reason right then. All that would do would be to alienate the one man who knew what had happened to Simon Crocker, so he couldn't afford self-righteousness just then.

And as concerning as potential danger to some troubled person was, he found himself more worried about himself. They were going into the woods, and he was terrified that he'd run into Audrey. Another man might have told himself that the forested areas in Haven were vast, and the odds of him running into Audrey and Nathan were small, but he just didn't have that sort of luck. Any serial killer who found their way in Haven was a candidate for being troubled, and a candidate for targeting by the Rev and his men.

_Please don't let her kill me_, he thought as he crawled into the backseat of the Rev's vehicle and slammed the door shut.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile<p>

"We don't need Duke so it doesn't matter that he couldn't come," Nathan said mulishly. "Vince and Dave know these woods better than anybody. And I wish you'd asked me before getting Jess involved."

"Why? She knows these woods too."

_Why?_ he thought in irritation, wondering if Audrey even realized that he'd noticed how transparently eager she seemed for him and Jess to pick up where they'd left off. It was blindingly obvious that she was trying to will them together, as if they were destined to be together because he could feel Jess's touch too. If he decided to pursue Jess, it'd be because he wanted to, not because Audrey thought it was a good idea. Not that he knew what he wanted to in the first place...

"I know that. I-" Nathan's words dried up when he noticed Jess walking towards them.

"Am I the last to arrive?" Jess asked, looking at the group assembled before her. There was a shotgun slung across her back, and she'd dressed for the woods far more practically than Nathan or Audrey had been able to.

Audrey looked at a loss for words, probably still hoping that Duke would relent, so Nathan took it upon himself to answer the question when he spotted the Teagues on the path. "We're all here now."

Vince and Dave waved to Nathan.

"Hey guys, everything all right?" he called to them.

"Actually, we're-" Dave started to say before his brother interrupted him.

"We're fine. Ready to go," Vince snapped.

"Dave?" Audrey asked pointedly, urging him to finish his thought.

Wilting under Vince's glare, Dave said nothing. Campbell got impatient, declared that he was going to look for his son even if they weren't and started off and leaving the rest of them to follow him or not, as if he didn't care one way or the other.

Nathan called him back and insisted that they go as teams; he was a little surprised when Audrey didn't immediately suggest that he take Jess, which in the end he did anyway and Dave as well. "This guy is on the run, extremely dangerous. We watch each other's backs," Nathan told them all sternly, and no one objected.

"Be careful," he told Audrey as they parted, and she agreed only with a look.

* * *

><p>An eerie shriek rent the air as Audrey and Mr. Campbell tramped through the woods.<p>

"Creepy and invisible," she said mostly to herself. "Not my favorite combination."

The thought of something being both creepy and invisible brought the whole "dark man" case to mind, and she found herself idly hoping that nothing else would happen to Jess to drive her from Haven a second time. Not just because she was hoping for a romance to kindle between Jess and Nathan, but because she genuinely liked the woman too. It was hard not to after she'd lured Nathan to her house with a report of a 7 & 1/2 foot, fu manchu bedecked intruder.

Campbell apparently didn't appreciate her commentary on the creepiness of the situation. "Have you ever tracked someone in the woods?"

"Excuse me?"

He touched her arm and she shrugged it off. "Hey. I'm putting my son's life in your hands. I'd like to know what you bring to the table."

It was a sobering thought, because if she was completely honest with herself, her thoughts weren't entirely in the game. She suddenly felt ridiculous, like a high school cheerleader sulking because her quarterback boyfriend decided to go get a pizza with friends after practice rather than let himself be dragged to the mall. She instantly resolved to put Duke's alternate plans out of her mind and to focus 100% on looking for Rory.

Which is why Audrey noticed something that Campbell did not. "You need to step back."

"You need to answer my question," Campbell insisted, clearly taking her statement figuratively.

"You're standing on evidence," Audrey told him, pointing at his feet.

Campbell's gaze dropped down, and he saw that he was standing in a puddle of blood. To his credit, he didn't scream or jump back. Instead he followed Audrey as she traced the trail to the gutted body of a raccoon. When he saw the raccoon Campbell snottily insisted that they leave it so she could find something they were looking for.

"I think I just did," she said brushing past him, gaze fixed on the body of a man pinned to a tree. He'd been gutted the same way as the unfortunate raccoon. The rose tattoo on his limp and dangling arm all but proclaimed his identity. "Any more complaints about my ability to track?" she demanded to know. Right then she would have killed for more coffee.

"What could have done that?" Campbell demanded to know after shaking his head, and it pleased her a little to see that he'd gotten a few shades paler even if he was a marine.

Audrey stared at the branch that impaled the body. "Something with hands. That branch was used as a spear, and animals just aren't known for their tool using abilities. Except for chimps, that is, and we're pretty far from the nearest zoo." Duke had taken her to the zoo in York, but it hadn't been big enough to host expensive animals like chimpanzees, so even if the idea wasn't ridiculous, there would be no calling around to see if a killer chimp was on the loose.

Campbell gave her a look that clearly questioned her sanity, but the rest of their party conveniently arrived before she could lower his opinion of her even further. "So, that's our serial killer," she told them, arms crossed defensively. The babbling about chimps could only be explained by tiredness, she decided.

"You think Rory killed him?" Campbell asked incredulously.

"I'm saying it's possible," Audrey said sharply. "He was the last person seen with him."

This wound Campbell up, and he outlined all the reasons that his son couldn't be a killer before asking, "Aren't there bear in these woods?"

Dave spared her the effort of pointing out that bears too didn't use spears by saying, "Worse than that. How about a wendigo?"

"Let it be!" his brother hissed.

Predictably, it was too late, and Campbell demanded to know what Dave meant. "A wendigo. According to the Micmac tribe, it's a human spirit, but stronger, faster, and tracks prey like a lion. It survives on human flesh."

"It eats people?" Nathan did nothing to keep the skepticism from his voice.

"Yeah. Long before these woods were a state park they were the wendigos' hunting grounds."

"Good lord, it's amateur hour," Campbell complained.

Dwight had been examining the body, and he rejoined them. "The bite marks on the body are human." When questioned he added, "Nothing quite looks like people being eaten by people."

"Still want me to let it be, Vince?" Dave asked. His brother just looked away.

"Okay, Mr. Campbell," Audrey said. "Are you sure there's not a history of the troubles in your family?"

Campbell looked disgusted. "Now my son is some sort of cannibal? No, there's no history. Not in my family, not in my wife's. Look, someone else did this. They're still out there, chasing down my son. And you are wasting time!"

Nathan nodded in the carefully schooled way that had let him be chief without killing any of Haven's citizens. "We had better break up again and see if we can't find Rory before-" Something shrieked in the woods again, making them all freeze. "before..."

"Before my son ends up as dead as that guy," Campbell finished bitterly, waving towards the corpse.

"We could _all_ die," Dave pointed out. "Given we're each made of tasty human flesh."

Jess elbowed him. "Not helpful."

"Sorry."

* * *

><p>Nathan glanced over his shoulder at Jess as she and Dave followed him through thick undergrowth. They were both shorter than him, and that made it harder on them. "Where's your dog?"<p>

"My dog?" she asked blankly.

"Last time I was out in the woods tracking something, I had to keep my father from shooting your dog. I didn't see her at your house a few days ago."

"The place I moved to in Quebec didn't allow dogs, so I had to send her to live with my cousin Marie."

"Oh."

She made an effort to catch up to him, and put a hand on his arm when she did. It took effort not to jump when he felt that. "Nathan, I recently heard the details about what happened to your father. I'm so sorry. When you didn't say anything about him I should have realized..." Though she was being sympathetic, there was something in her expression that suggested that she shouldn't have had to have heard about the chief from someone else. Nathan looked away.

"Garland was a good man," Dave said mournfully. "Haven's worse for losing him."

When it came right down to it, despite his grief Nathan was still angry at his father for leaving them, so he quickly changed the subject. "I noticed some sneaker prints by the body, but the spacing was wrong. Had to be about eight feet between strides."

Dave noted that they were known to be twice as fast as ordinary people. That thought had Nathan thinking about how few ordinary people he actually knew. The Teagues. Duke but that was debatable...he didn't include Audrey, because while she wasn't troubled, she wasn't ordinary either. Not if she was really Lucy like she suspected.

"You ever see one of these wendigo?" Nathan asked and Dave said he hadn't. "But you believe in them?"

"I believe in the troubles-" Dave started to say, but Jess held her fingers to her mouth, indicating that they both better shut up. They complied, and only then realized that they could hear someone snapping braches as they walked through the trees nearby.

The last thing Nathan expected was to round a tree and find Duke standing there, pointing a gun at him.

* * *

><p>an: _as we mentioned earlier, we began writing this story before this episode began, and happily added this episode in though we were shocked that it lacked a "now that Evi is dead" scene like we truly thought would happen. By the time "Business as Usual" aired and went so very wrong (in our opinions, lol) we'd already written 75? pages, and we had to think about what to do - Stop writing and not begin posting, ever? Make the whole story AU and scrap our version of WWWW? Or continue on and include the last two episodes as well? "Fixing" the last three episodes was our agreed upon solution so we could continue, given we didn't want to write a completely AU story. No, bending reality to do our bidding is ever so much better! (and if you read X-Files fic too, you can see that "fixing" is one of my fic hobbies, particularly in "The Family G-Man." Felinefemme and I fixed everything in that fic. Everything.)_

_Later on we can all be amused again when our idea of what happens after the curtains closed on the final scene of season 2 turns out to be off the mark as well, a hundred or so pages from here. But hey, with my other Haven work-in-progress "The Other Side of the Door" I'm bound to eventually hit upon who the kidnapper is =P _


	15. Poker Face

_Make it look real, Duke, make it look real_, a little voice inside his head whispered when he realized that he and Nathan were going to come face to face. He pulled his gun off his shoulder and pointed it straight at Nathan.

He didn't want to be standing there, pointing a gun at his girlfriend's partner, at his sometimes friend, but he'd known that he was going to have to put on a performance if he was going to convince the Rev that he was on the crazy zealot's side. Especially after the Rev spent most of the time they thrashed about the forest bad-mouthing the Haven police department, and Nathan especially. "I thought at first that Nathan could be guided since his trouble seems to only inflict harm on himself, but he proved again and again that he's going to be nothing but a hindrance to the cleansing."

Duke hadn't needed to lie when he agreed that it was true. The Nathan he knew had already been a black and white, this is right/this is wrong sort of person back when they were being taught to share in Mrs. Dell's morning kindergarten class. Nathan had stuck up for Petie, the smallest kid in class, even when no one else would. Thirty years later he was still the same basic person, still trying to make sure that everyone got a fair shake.

"Lower your weapon, Nathan," the Rev commanded, his tone suggesting that he had no doubts that his command would be followed. It made Duke think about his comment about Nathan to Audrey that first night they'd been together, not that he thought Nathan would be able to appreciate that he and the Rev had something in common.

"I don't know what the hell you're doing here reverend," Nathan said, turning away from Duke and letting his gun drop. "But you and your men better stand down." He raised his gun again, this time pointing it squarely at the Rev.

Still trying to play his role, Duke didn't lower his gun, even when Nathan had his back to him.

"You first." Rather than look threatened, the Rev seemed delighted, and Duke wanted to shout a warning to Nathan. He didn't, trusting that Nathan would instinctively realize what he had: the Rev had just added to his pile of mental justifications for taking out the dangerously troubled, Nathan included.

"Actually," a voice spoke up as the men all pointed guns at each other. Audrey gripped her gun the way she'd been taught to by the FBI. "We're going to do this all at the same time." She counted to three and Nathan was the only one to move, responding by turning his gun on Duke. Audrey looked pissed. "Play nice, boys. I can take out two of you before anyone gets off a shot."

_Not us, though_,Duke found himself thinking. Still, she was looking at him and Nathan as she spoke, which made him more than a little uneasy. Hoping to placate her at least a little, he put his gun up first. Others, beginning with Nathan, followed suit.

"You all just committed a felony," Nathan told them angrily once the moment where it seemed like they might start shooting each other like a bad western passed.

The Rev was unfazed. "We're just protecting one of our own, Nathan. You should understand that."

At that Audrey looked at Duke and asked, "What are you doing here? What are you doing with the Rev?"

"Just some concerned citizens trying to protect our town," Duke found himself saying coldly, doing his best to channel Evi's gift of saying the right thing to play a part. Still, he had to avoid her eyes because he couldn't bear to see her look of disappointment mixed with surprise and anger.

The Rev insisted that they were trying to find the missing boy, which didn't go over well with Nathan. His claim that they knew how to hunt down evil the way he didn't went over less well, and Mr. Campbell agreed that they should help with the search, pissing Nathan off further. It was all enough to make Duke give him a wide berth, least he become the target of Nathan's fury.

It was a wasted effort because Nathan grabbed him as he tried to pass. "What are you, insane?"

"Insane is doing the same thing over and over when it gets you nowhere," he said flatly.

"So you make a date with the Rev? Is this just about Evi?" Nathan demanded to know.

"Evi's dead. And for the first time I'm seeing things clearly. Now stay out of my way."

As Duke walked away, he heard Nathan hiss at Audrey, "Your boyfriend's joined the dark side. I could have told you it was only a matter of time." He cringed, and walked faster, hoping to be out of earshot before she could respond. Right then, he wouldn't have blamed her if she failed to defend him, but he didn't want to hear for himself.

* * *

><p>Stricken, Audrey couldn't help but wonder what had caused Duke to turn to the Rev out of the blue. Nothing she thought of made any sense whatsoever, and it made her heartsick that he hadn't even said a word to her before committing himself to the Rev's cause.<p>

Her pocket began to vibrate, and she almost didn't check to see who had left her a text. It seemed like it couldn't possibly matter, and she was more than a little surprised that there was cell phone reception that deep into the woods. She had to hand it to Verizon, they really meant full coverage.

Curiosity nibbled at her for the next three minutes, then she caved and yanked the phone out of her pocket. The message simply said, "Sorry. Important the rev trust me now. Will explain everything. Promise."

She didn't notice that Nathan had caught up with her until he took the phone out of her hand. "So he's bluffing."

Audrey grabbed the phone back and stuffed it in her pocket. "That seems to be the case." She wasn't ashamed that she sounded relieved.

"Did you know he was going to pull this little stunt?"

"No. And some warning would have been nice," she complained, ducking under a branch that would have garroted her otherwise. "I guess he wanted our reactions to be genuine."

"What can he possibly gain from pretending to join the Rev's merry band of thugs?"

"Answers. He's been talking about wanting to know what Evi meant when she said that the Rev knew things about his father's death. And he also wants to know what the men who shot Evi meant when they said he was too important to shoot too," she explained.

"Answers. No one ever gets any answers in this town," he scoffed, and it was hard to disagree with the sentiment. There were days when she fantasized about rounding people like the Teagues up and waterboarding them until they spit out the truth. "The phrase 'conspiracy of silence' had this town in mind."

"Nathan, even if Duke's bluffing, I don't think his new 'friends' were. We've got to watch our backs. You especially."

"Me?"

"You're troubled."

Nathan nodded slightly. "The Rev's been talking a long time. I think he's finally making his move."

"What do we do about it?" she asked.

"Stop him."

* * *

><p>Duke felt a little better after he'd claimed he needed to take a leak so he could send Audrey the text, but getting a response would have been better still. He'd ended up in the same vicinity as Dwight, someone he barely knew even though they were both from Haven. Dwight had graduated from high school when Duke was in 9th grade, so it was hardly surprising that they had never run in the same social circles. And as adults their paths had seldom crossed as well.<p>

He tried to make small talk, but the big man kept his mouth shut, so Duke left him behind at the first opportunity. Being on his own was better, because he could spend more effort weighing the odds about whether or not Audrey was going to forgive him for his stunt.

Eventually, he got a text in return. "You'd better."

A warm glow of happiness suffused him when it wasn't a death threat or a message telling him to go to hell. For a moment he was so pleased that he looked around for Dwight, intending not to share the message so much as continue to needle him for entertainment, but found himself alone. Where had he gone? _He could wrestle a moose_, Duke thought, _so why worry about him?_ It would have been better if Dwight was armed with something easier to shoot in a hurry than a crossbow, though.

"Sasquatch?" he called.

The only answer was a distant shriek that didn't come from a human throat.

* * *

><p>The finish line seemed within sight when a conversation with Nathan about what was making nearby squirrels squirrellier than usual was interrupted by the missing teenager's reappearance. Mr. Campbell grabbed him and asked him what he had been doing, leading the boy to claim that he'd killed the serial killer. Nathan, of course, doubted that and asked him how, but before he could answer one of the Rev's men, Bart, came out of the forest holding a bleeding leg and claiming to have been bitten by something that was fast but human...and Rory raced back into the woods, ignoring the shouts to come back.<p>

"For the love of God," Audrey muttered, watching the boy disappear back into the woods. "Rory doesn't seem too worried about what's out there."

"I don't think it's after him," Nathan said, looking over at her. "I think it's after us."

Everyone was at a loss what do now that it appeared that the missing boy was deliberately running from them. Nathan told them all "It's getting dark and that thing is coming for us. We need to stick together."

It seemed like a terrible solution to everyone, but it might be the only way that everyone would survive the night, so they evoked an uneasy truce and picked a place to spend the night. Camp was made along the water because it effectively allowed them to only defend from attack on three sides, which was marginally better than from four.

The sun set.

* * *

><p>Truce or not, the Rev and his men settled apart but within sight of the original search party. This seemed to suit everyone except for Campbell, who kept crossing the length of the camp area to talk to people.<p>

For a while Audrey sat with Nathan in companionable silence. He knew it wasn't like her to keep quiet, so he wondered what was on her mind. Eventually she spoke up. "Nathan, is Maine one of the states that charges for search and rescue missions?"

"What?" Of all the things he predicted she could have been brooding about, that wasn't one that even crossed his mind.

"Some states will charge people if they intentionally put themselves into danger and have to be rescued," she elaborated. "And Rory...it's hard to argue that he didn't put himself, and everyone else, into danger by running back into the woods. I was just wondering if the town was going to charge his father for this little adventure."

"Technically they could. Maine is one of the states that allows for the costs of rescue missions to be recouped, but they never actually have yet in practice."

"Oh. That's kind of too bad."

"Why? We're the only cops out here, so it's not like the town would collect much."

"It's just that Campbell is a..." she struggled for an on-duty appropriate adjective, "jerk."

Nathan stood up, shaking his head. "I'm going to go see if Jess and the Teagues have had any luck with catching those fish."

"All right."

* * *

><p>Nathan passed by Vince and Dave, who had a pile of fish between them and were arguing about whether or not they should make sure they carried more fishing line on their persons in the future or more hooks. Somehow it barely surprised him that they were the type of old Mainers who always had a piece of line and a hook secreted away along side waterproof matches and chlorine tablets.<p>

"Can I give you a hand?" Nathan asked, coming along side Jess. Her boots were sodden from accidentally getting too close to the shore, and even her jeans were wet to her shins.

"No," Jess said, giving a rueful laugh. "Your being able to help me would suggest that I was getting something accomplished in the first place." She held up empty hands.

He couldn't resist giving her a hard time. "I thought you'd be the best at this, being one with nature and all."

"I suppose I could next try asking them nicely to jump into my hands, but so far nothing I've tried has enticed them," Jess replied, taking his ribbing in stride.

"Maybe that could work. You're pretty charming when you put your mind to it," Nathan found himself saying just before he realized that it probably sounded flirtatious. _And what's wrong with that?_ he asked himself. Looking back to where he'd left Audrey, he was not the least bit surprised to see Duke standing next to her, apparently talking to her. "Or so I recall."

"Thank you, but my skills at charming living things don't seem to extend to the cold-blooded. I never was able to convince the garter snakes to stay out of my cellar."

"Well, I think Dave and Vince might be willing to share."

"That's- ahhh!"

A sudden wave pulled her legs out from under her but Nathan grabbed her before she fell in and got completely soaked. "I've got you," he said, pulling her against him.

"Thanks," she told him, but he hardly noticed. Instead he was preoccupied with what it felt like to have someone pressed up against him. "Maybe we should step back a few feet, huh?"

"Maybe we should."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile<p>

It was hard to make out in the dark, but Audrey was pretty sure that they did catch something, because the Rev and his men also made their way down to the water, and she doubted that they would have bothered if there was no proof that catching fish was a possibility.

All of the Rev's men except Duke, that was. He slipped away from the group and came over to her. She knew that she should have been relieved, but she was still angry at him for not letting her know what he was up to. "Are you sure you want to be seen crossing enemy lines, Duke?" Not that anyone was looking in their direction.

"You're really angry," he said, sounding shocked.

She opened her mouth and everything she'd been holding in all day fell out. "Damn right I'm angry. You don't say anything about what you're planning, you pull a gun on Nathan, and you're out here with the Rev when _I_ asked you for your help...how did you expect me to feel?"

He crouched down next to her. "Dammit, it's not like I'm doing this for a lark. This is important."

"How, Duke? What's so important that you thought getting into bed with the Rev was a good idea?" she demanded to know. "You do realize one of those guys killed Evi. Don't act like you don't care about that."

"The Rev killed Evi. One way or the other it goes back to him. And yeah, I'd take my revenge right now if he didn't know about every other mystery in my life. Evi, the tattoo, my father."

Audrey said nothing, consumed by a hot stab of jealousy. She wouldn't admit it, but there was little she herself wouldn't give to find someone who had all the answers to the missing pages in her life.

"I feel like I'm on to something big," Duke continued. "But I don't have any idea what it is."

"Welcome to the club."

"You know I want answers too."

His eyes pleaded for understanding, and it was hard not to respond to that. "I know." She held up some dried grass and explained how to make a fire with it, assuming that there were any fish to cook. He looked confused about the sudden woodcraft lesson until she said, "I don't even know where I learned that, or who I was when I learned it. So I of all people understand what it's like to do desperate things in the search for answers. Do you believe that?"

"There's little I wouldn't believe about you," he replied.

Audrey thought he meant it as a compliment, but a cold feeling slithered in her stomach when he said it...it only served to remind her that almost anything could be true about her, and she didn't want to feel like someone who was such a blank slate that they were capable of anything. "Why didn't you tell me what you were planning?"

Duke shrugged helplessly. "You know I think the world of you, Audrey, but I've played cards with you. You have a terrible poker face. I couldn't let the fate of my plan rest on your acting abilities."

"I could have...I mean, I probably..." She smiled wryly. "Point made. How long have you been planning this?" Suddenly he had trouble meeting her eyes. "How long?" she repeated.

He sighed. "I got the idea just after Evi was killed. From the way he talked to me at the station during the lockdown, I knew he wanted to turn me to his side really badly. So...I decided to let him."

Audrey elbowed him in the ribs, but not hard enough to make him complain. "That's why we've spent most of our date nights out outside of Haven, isn't it?"

"You caught me. I wanted to keep us away from the prying eyes of the Rev's men, and the vast majority of them are teetotalers who bought into the party line about sticking around Haven, ever vigilant. You're not complaining, are you? Date night within Haven city limits would be pretty dull."

"You're probably right." She let one hand brush his outer thigh. "Listen, I'm the last person to tell someone how to live their life, but know that there are some doors you kick open you can never close again. I'm trusting you to do the right thing."

"Thank-" He broke off and looked around. "You hear that?"

"Hear what?"

Something roared uncomfortably close by. "That." He glanced at her before shooting her an apologetic look. "I'd better..." he mumbled, backing away before any of the Rev's men took notice of who he'd been talking to. Audrey was pretty sure she was the only one to notice him mouth 'love you' before he dashed off.

When the thing cried out a second time, everyone came running, fishing forgotten. Everyone aimed their guns into the night, pointed as best they could at the source of the sound.

* * *

><p>Later on Nathan would be able to pinpoint exactly when it was that the situation spiraled out of control, and when he did, he no longer thought Audrey's desire to punish Campbell financially was the least bit amusing. It was his fault that things went south, because he was the first to make a move into the woods, and the Rev's group followed. Duke too.<p>

"Duke's going to get himself killed," Nathan declared, but the complaint didn't stop him from hesitating to rush after them, not when he knew that Duke wasn't really committed to the Rev's cause. Audrey, Jess, the Teague brothers and Dwight fanned out, but he could tell that Audrey wanted to go with him. He just didn't know if it was out of concern for him, or for Duke.

In his hurry to catch up to Duke, Nathan tripped and sent himself sprawling. When he lifted his hand he discovered that it was coated in blood, not his own. Getting to his feet he chided himself for being squeamish, and began to search for the body. It should have come as a relief that it was a gutted deer, but knowing that it was evidence that the creature was in the area left his worries at high alert.

"Oh God," he muttered, getting to his feet and intending to shout a warning that he hoped that the Rev and his men would deign to respond to. But as he swung his gun up the hill, he realized that it was now pointed directly at someone who was holding their hands up defensively. A teenage girl.

"You're Nathan Wuornos, aren't you?" the girl asked, not flinching when he decided not to lower his gun. "Please, you have to help us."

Before he could respond, another, much smaller figure darted at them. It was a young girl, her mouth and neck covered in blood, reminding him of the zombie he'd misplaced a few weeks earlier. The older girl hissed, "no" at her sister, and he demanded to know what she meant. "She's hungry."

Nathan stared at the two in disbelief. Until the older girl said that, he'd been rapidly trying to convince himself that there was another explanation for why a ten-year-old girl would be coated in blood. The best he'd come up with is that maybe she'd tripped over the dead deer. But her sister's statement shattered all his self-created illusions. The child that stood before him was the wendigo, or one of them as it turned out.

* * *

><p>When Audrey realized that no one had seen Nathan in several minutes, she found herself running into the woods, crashing through thickets without any thought as to how she'd ever find her way out. A strange expectation that the witch's cottage from Hansel and Gretel might loom up before her at any moment briefly surfaced, and she pushed it away. She was too worried about Nathan to have time for such frivolity. The fairytales she thought of had never been read to her anyway, at least not that she knew of.<p>

A heavy and lingering dread had overcome her back at camp when she noticed he was gone, and she couldn't help but wonder if the Rev was above allowing chaos to be an excuse to claim that poor Nathan had been mistaken for something else in the dark. The possibility that the preacher would "make a move" that would cost her partner his life that night seemed very real as she crashed through the undergrowth.

"Come on Nathan, you couldn't have just have disappeared," she muttered to herself, increasingly worried that she'd find him on the ground, bleeding from something other than a bullet given that no shots had been fired yet. There were a lot of potential murder weapons in the woods, so the fact that there had been no shooting offered her scant comfort.

There were a couple woody of snaps and then a flashlight beam was suddenly blinding her. She found herself squinting at the Rev. "What happened?" she asked, not really trusting him to give her a straight answer.

"Dunno, must have scared it away," he told her. "Everybody went back to camp."

"We don't know what we're up against out here, all right?" she asked sharply. "So when your men splinter off to play action hero, it puts the whole group at risk."

He stared her down. "Oh, we know what we're up against. We're chasing down the troubled. Only this time, we're going to do it my way."

"Your way is going to get people killed."

"Maybe. But it would be the right people." The Rev smiled, but it wasn't an expression of joy. Grim satisfaction or vindication, maybe. "The way you've been coddling the troubled has cost a lot of people their lives. So now we're going to do what we should have done a long time ago - wipe them out."

He started to walk away, and she nearly let him, but in the end she turned him back with a question. "Reverend. Where's Nathan?" Rather than answer he just looked at her for a moment before stalking off.

She was still standing there in disbelief when a hand reached out and wrapped around her mouth. Pulled to the ground, she struggled until she realized that the man who had attacked her was Nathan. "Parker, it's me."

Audrey shoved his hand away and got to her feet, unable to say anything because she was afraid that she'd either blurt out that she'd been afraid he was dead, or scream at him for man-handling her when there were probably less physical ways to keep her quiet.

Nathan, ignorant of her internal struggle, brushed himself off. "Come on." He led her to where two young girls sat on a fallen tree, and her first impulse was to wonder why God was punishing them by giving them more innocent people to look after. "Meet Frankie and Sophie Benton," Nathan told her. "Sisters...and wendigos."

Audrey stared at them in shock. The very last thing she'd expected was to find out that the wendigos they'd been running from were still children.

The older girl, Frankie, explained that the trouble had come upon them suddenly when they'd been orphaned. It seemed to fit the pattern that some troubled people, like Chris, experienced where their trouble only manifested when a parent with a similar trouble died. Audrey wondered why this wasn't universal, given that Nathan and Michael Garrick's fathers had both been alive when they were afflicted, but it didn't seem like a good time to ask.

When the younger girl fussed about how it wasn't fair that she and Frankie lived on animal flesh, but "she" didn't, it was revealed that there was a third sister out there, the one who had likely taken out the serial killer, was dating Rory Campbell, and was currently the Rev's target.

"Is it possible that Rory lured the killer into the woods so Amelia could kill him?" Audrey asked.

Frankie looked away. "That relationship has always been way too intense."

That was as good as a yes as far as Audrey was concerned.

They all looked up when one of the Rev's men shouted that he thought he heard something. Nathan told Frankie to take her sister someplace safe. Frankie wanted to know about her sister, so Audrey found herself asking if there was somewhere Rory and Amelia might hide. Near a ranger station was the girl's suggestion, before she and her youngest sister ran off fast enough to make a marathoner die of envy.

"The Rev is making his move," Audrey told Nathan. "If we don't find Amelia first, he'll kill her."

"How do you know that?"

"He's so convinced that it's the right thing to do that he flat-out told me before you grabbed..." She trailed off. "Don't ever do that again, okay? The next time you tackle me, you'll regret being able to feel _anyone's_ touch."

"Sorry." He looked contrite. "We can't find anything in the dark. First thing in the morning we'll go to that ranger's station."

* * *

><p>an: _I was thinking...someone (you know who you are, lol) commented that she was glad to see all the subplots being fleshed out. But that's not really so. There are a couple more... one of which we've hinted at three times by my count so far - including once in this episode revision - and the other not yet at all. Gotta keep readers guessing!_


	16. Sacrifice

Back at the camp, they built the fire up and tried to salvage some of the abandoned fish they'd left behind earlier. If the wendigo had been an ordinary animal, the firelight probably would have been enough to keep it at bay. Nathan just hoped that the light gave them time to see her, and maybe he could keep her from being shot.

Exhausted, most people tried to get as comfortable as they could on the ground. No one had expected that the search would last through the night, so there wasn't a single sleeping bag or bedroll amongst their things. No one expected a good night's sleep, least of all Nathan.

"Do you mind if I come over here next to you?" Jess asked, giving Nathan an expectant look.

"Why would I mind?"

"I couldn't tell if you wanted to be alone."

Nathan heaved an uncharacteristic sigh. "I'm tired of being alone."

"Me too."

* * *

><p>Audrey was still trying to fall asleep when her phone alerted her that she had another text. She looked around, and spotted Duke. He was doing his best to look like he was resting, but even from a distance she could see the faint light from his phone's display screen. Everyone around him had somehow fallen asleep, putting her in mind of that old saying about sleeping the sleep of the righteous. No doubt they counted themselves as righteous men, all.<p>

"next time we're in the woods, we make s'mores."

The message brought a tired smile to her face. "next time we rent a nice cabin instead sleeping on the ground."

"deal." Then a moment later. "I haven't forgotten about those doors."

It took her a moment to parse that. "good. and goodnite."

Yawning, she stuffed her phone back into her coat and rolled over. Tomorrow night would be better. She'd be in her own bed, not alone, not being eaten by blood-sucking mosquitoes, not being hunted by a teenage girl she now knew she could never shoot at even if she was a killer...all she had to do was get through the next several hours, and all would be better. The thought carried her off to sleep.

* * *

><p>A hand roughly shaking his shoulder brought Duke out of a nice dream about making s'mores with Audrey. The hand was much too large for hers, so it hardly came as a surprise to see one of the Rev's men standing over him. "They're gone already," the man told him, and Duke instinctively looked over at the other end of the camp. No one was there.<p>

"Scared off by something?" Duke suggested.

The Rev overheard and shook his head. "They're trying to protect it."

_No doubt_, Duke thought. He got up and fell in with Campbell, the Rev and his men as they began to trek through the trees.

"You made a fine choice joining us," the Rev remarked. "Took you a long time."

"I think you're right on both counts."

The Rev continued as if he hadn't spoken. "As men we're defined by our moral boundaries. And if we allow them to be compromised in even the smallest way, you live a false life. Some men never learn that."

"I guess I have an old soul," Duke quipped. The joke helped him push the uncomfortable thoughts about how he was compromising his moral boundaries by being with the Rev away. At least a little.

The Rev apparently thought he was in earnest and actually agreed with him. "You've been through a great deal. You and I have got to sit down and have a long conversation after all this is over. You have the opportunity to succeed in Haven where your father so tragically failed."

"Failed at what, exactly?"

"Saving our town. I believe it's your destiny, son."

"That's a conversation I look forward to," Duke told him.

"So do I."

As tempted as Duke was to tell someone, he kept his phone in his pocket. Telling Audrey could wait until after he and the Rev sat down and discussed the questions and answers that had been plaguing Duke since he found Simon Crocker's name on the Rev's list of victims of the troubled. Ever since he was a little boy listening to a therapist telling him that his father had died the day of the boating accident, some part of Duke had remained convinced that his father hadn't died that day. Seeing his father's name on that list had only reignited that belief. Getting answers wouldn't bring Simon back, but Duke was hoping that he'd finally feel the closure he'd been longing for most of his life.

Being younger and fitter, Duke found himself up the hill faster than the Rev. When he glanced back, wondering what was keeping the older man, he found that he was alone.

* * *

><p>Getting to the ranger station proved to be a crushing disappointment to Audrey. A happy fantasy about getting there, finding the missing girlwendigo, and sending her off to safety so she herself could go home, shower, eat real food, and take a long nap had kept her going as they quietly made their way out of camp without waking the rest of the group.

Standing there, listening to Nathan say that they'd been there but he couldn't tell when, made her feel like throwing herself on the ground and kicking her feet until the situation resolved itself and she got what she wanted. The baleful looks that Jess cast her said much of the same, though there was also some blaming of her for dragging her into the mess in there too.

"The Rev's gone," Duke announced, coming upon them suddenly. "He was right behind me, then he wasn't."

"You didn't hear anything?" Audrey asked.

"No."

"It's that thing," one of the men with Duke insisted. "Bart went to the hospital so it snatched the Rev instead."

"Some footprints over here," Dwight said, showing them. "They lead into the woods."

Ever the marine still, Campbell said, "Let's go," and everyone loyal to the Rev followed him, including Duke.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Audrey insisted that they'd have to head to the spot where Frankie and Sophie said they'd be, because they'd need the older girl's help. Vince and Dave stayed behind in case anyone doubled back, and Audrey, Nathan, Jess and Dwight went on.

"What's the plan?" Jess, the least used to hastily executed police decisions, asked Audrey.

"We get Frankie to tell us enough about her sister to get her out of here alive," Audrey explained. "She'll know more about what she's up to, and what she's capable of than we can guess at."

"And if she can't help us?" Jess persisted.

Audrey frowned. "Then Amelia might be screwed. Taking on the Rev was not a very smart idea."

"You'll do what you can, though, to help her," Jess said confidently.

Audrey and Nathan traded a look. "We'll do what we can."

Finding the two girls was easier than they figured it would be, because Frankie ran to them as soon as she heard them. She was concerned that Sophie was sick, and frantic about that. Dwight scooped the girl up, and told Frankie not to worry, he'd get her to his medical kit and see to it that she got the food she needed.

"We're looking for Amelia," Audrey said, watching Dwight's form shrink in the distance. "We need your help, Frankie."

Frankie nodded, but she looked doubtful.

* * *

><p>A short time later they all heard Rory shouting for help, and the Rev's men all ran in the direction the boy's voice came from. Audrey, Nathan and Jess would have too until Frankie pointed out that Rory was running away from the smell of fresh blood, which clued them in that Rory was playing at being a killdeer, leading them all in the wrong direction on purpose.<p>

They put their faith in Frankie's judgment, and went where she said to instead.

* * *

><p>Somehow, Audrey got separated from the rest of them, and she stumbled upon Amelia and the Rev from a different direction. When Duke told them that he'd gone missing, it had been her supposition that Amelia had taken the Rev captive. That might have been the case, but he was now standing over her, poised to cut the girl's throat.<p>

Everything but the girl and the Rev seemed far away, remote, as she stared at the shiny blade in his hand.

With a gut-churning flash of clarity, Audrey realized that Amelia was not going to be his victim. She would merely be his first. Once the killing began, the zealot and his faithful followers would kill everyone in Haven that they considered a threat, regardless of whether the troubled person actually posed a danger to anyone. At first they'd probably try to cover their tracks and make their murders look like accidents, but eventually they'd be so emboldened that they'd pull people from their beds and execute them on their lawns in front of everyone, spitting the scripture they'd twist to justify their actions as righteous. It wouldn't stop until every one of the troubled were dead. In that moment she knew that there was only one way to stop that all from coming to pass.

Audrey pulled the trigger.

The Rev had time to be surprised by the bullet lodged in his chest before he topped to the ground face first.

Nathan examined the body before coming over to stand next to her and Jess. Looking down at her he asked, "You were aiming for his shoulder, right?"

When Audrey didn't say anything, Jess did. "Of course she was, Nathan. What kind of question is that?"

* * *

><p>Duke had been in a good mood ever since the Rev promised to talk to him, to explain everything, but his fine feelings burst when he saw the Rev lying on the ground. He'd been around enough bodies to know when someone was dead.<p>

"Who did this?" the same man who told them that the wendigo had snatched the Rev demanded to know.

Duke's expectation that it would be one of the wendigos, or maybe Nathan, to claim the kill was torn down when Audrey said, "I did. He was going to kill her."

The conversation that followed between Nathan and the Rev's man barely registered to Duke. Audrey had killed the Rev, and with him Duke's best shot at learning anything the man had known.

* * *

><p>The walk back to civilization was nearly silent, punctured only by Nathan making a phone call to arrange for the coroner's van to come for the Rev's body. It took a lot less time to walk out of the woods than Audrey had expected it would, but then, they'd spent a great deal of time wandering about in lines that were no more straight than the average New England highway.<p>

Duke walked faster than anyone else, and he refused to even look at her.

Breaking through the trees felt strange, as if they were returning to Earth after spending time in some harsh alien environment. Somehow, she was startled to see that everything was as they left it, right down to Nathan's ugly truck waiting patiently in its parking spot.

When Duke finally approached her, it was worse than him keeping his distance. At a distance she couldn't see the hurt in his eyes, or the blame in his expression. "There's going to be an inquiry into the shooting," she told him tonelessly. "I'm going to have to explain why I didn't aim for his leg."

"That's a good question. Why didn't you?" Duke asked flatly.

"Are you serious?" she asked in disbelief.

"Look, you're not going to see me crying at the Rev's funeral but your timing, Audrey?" His voice rose. "An hour before you killed him, he was dangling the keys to Haven in front of my nose. And I was this close...! Because of you, I've got nothing," he concluded bitterly.

"Well, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I screwed up your plans." He started to turn away, but she wouldn't let him. "No. If you were with the Rev and he was about to kill that little girl, would you have stopped him?"

"Honestly? I don't know."

She was tempted to hit him, because there was no question in her mind that he wouldn't have let the Rev kill a child and there shouldn't have been in his mind either. How could she know that he was better than that and him have doubts about it?

"Well, you need to figure it out, Duke," she spat out. "Because while you're looking for answers, the rest of us are fighting a war." He stared at her. "I did what I had to do," she insisted.

Duke just looked away.

* * *

><p>After talking to Dwight about taking the wendigos somewhere safe, Nathan wandered back to Jess. She touched Nathan's arm and tried to be discreet when she pointed at Audrey and Duke. "What's with them? You'd think they'd be as happy to be out of the woods as we are."<p>

Nathan couldn't hear their conversation, but he could guess at its contents from their angry expressions. "Duke only joined the Rev because he thought he could get information out of them. I'm guessing that he's less than pleased that Audrey killed him off before he could."

"But she did it to save that girl!" Jess protested.

He glanced at her, thinking it might be nice to not have the sort of questions you'd do almost anything to answer and knowing you never would get them, like the questions he still had about both of his fathers. Trying to explain what it felt like would be pointless, so he just allowed her to continue to defend Audrey's actions.

When Audrey and Duke parted, neither of them looked like they were happy. But Nathan was - he could practically see her slipping the bonds of Duke's bad influence upon her.

* * *

><p>After they parted company with Jess, Nathan and Audrey didn't say much of anything on the drive back to the Gull. He was tempted to, but he didn't know the right thing to say, so he decided to tread carefully.<p>

She looked around when they got there, obviously wondering if Duke had beat them there, but his Land Rover wasn't in the lot. It took her a long time to open the door and let herself out.

"You okay?" Nathan asked, worried about her.

"Yeah, it's just-" She waved a hand. "I've never been through an inquiry before."

"Oh." It was obvious that this wasn't the entirety of her worries, but he decided not to call her on them just then. Asking 'so, are you and Duke through?' would have been crass, so he held his tongue. "It'll be fine. Jess, Frankie and I all watched him put a knife to the girl's throat. No one will question the need for deadly force."

"Really?" Audrey's blue eyes, only a slightly darker blue than his own, were filled with doubt. He realized that it wasn't the inquiry board she was worried about doubting the need for deadly force just then.

"Sure."

"I'll try to believe that."

Nathan watched as she glumly made her way up the wooden stairs outside the apartment, and wondered what would happen next. If she and Duke did call it quits, would she be looking for some place to live again? He could easily imagine Duke breaking their rental agreement out of anger. The thought had interesting implications, and he found himself humming on the drive home.

* * *

><p>Later<p>

As soon as she stepped inside the apartment, Audrey found herself taking off her clothes, and falling into bed. The last thing she expected was to actually fall asleep, but she woke up three hours later, with a bad taste in her mouth, and with regrets that she hadn't gotten as far as taking off her bra and socks before collapsing.

A glance at the clock told her that it four hours before Duke would normally come by, but she was almost sure that their plans to watch a werewolf movie and have dinner were going to be postponed for a lot longer than they already had been.

Still, she found herself in the shower, getting cleaned up as if she had to care whether or not she was presentable. Somehow, even though she mocked herself for it, some part of her desperately wanted him to come over, if only so she could explain why she'd done it, to tell him the whole truth, which wasn't simply that he was going to kill that girl.

An hour after she gave up hope that she'd be speaking to Duke that night, she found herself glad that she'd showered after all. The barely looked at Hannaford grocery circular on her table promised ice cream on sale, and she found that she really needed ice cream just then.

It was lucky that New Englanders were more eccentric than people in Ohio, because even though it was already fall, there would be plenty of ice cream on the shelves. When Nathan first told her that people up there bought ice cream at almost the same rate year round, she hadn't believe him. Until he backed it up with hard statistics. That had made her laugh and he'd given her a serious look and declared that if they reserved ice cream for warm weather, they might not have any at all. Now she knew exactly what he meant.

* * *

><p>Elsewhere in Haven<p>

The Cape Rouge rocked minutely as Duke paced the length of the deck. He was making himself dizzy with the constant changes of direction the short open space required if he was to keep in motion, but he couldn't stop any more than a shark could stop swimming. If he sat down, he didn't know what he'd do next.

He'd been so close. The Rev hadn't outright promised that they'd be sitting down for that conversation that afternoon, but the implication that it wouldn't be long before he'd been handed answers had been clear. And then Audrey had...If she loved him back, how could she have pulled the trigger and dashed away everything that was finally within his reach?

Duke shook his head. It shouldn't have come as a shock that she would shoot the Rev before letting him murder a teenage girl, but he couldn't help but bitterly resent the fact that she had. If she hadn't done it to keep him from what he wanted, it was a gloriously awful happy accident.

His feet began to complain that they were sick of being party to his need to be in motion, but he ignored them. He had no intention of letting himself settle down until he knew what to do about finding his answers, and about Audrey both.

* * *

><p>an: _Yes, we considered going the easy route and hand-waving away the bad feelings the Rev's death stirred up at the end of the episode in canon. It seemed like too much of a cheat, though, so we took the other road, the one forces them to deal with the aftermath...even though there's more at stake now than on the show. _


	17. Parched

The Following Week

When Audrey headed down the stairs to get to her car, she had to force herself not to stare in the Gull's window like the poor kids did at toys they could never afford in a Christmas movie she could barely remember. Duke was there, she knew from the presence of his vehicle, but they hadn't spoken in days. Trying to act like an adult, a coward but still an adult, rather than a melodramatic fifteen-year-old, she forced herself to keep her eyes straight ahead until she could collapse behind her steering wheel.

At first she'd had the hope that they'd make up the next day, maybe after a screaming match, but it had become clear that Duke was no more eager to make the first move than she was. One of them was going to have to, eventually, but every day they didn't talk made it all the harder to nerve herself up to break the ice. It also gave her ample time to worry that he hadn't spoken to her because he never wanted to do so again, rather than simple fear like she was feeling.

Doubt was making her edgy, and she hated it. Throwing herself into work with enthusiasm was the only thing keeping her going. That, and an excess of coffee. Starting the car, she imagined slipping her rent check under the Gull's front door if things didn't get better soon.

* * *

><p>Later<p>

Audrey and Nathan entered a blue medic tent and saw the desiccated corpse on the ground. Audrey knelt over the body. "Hot enough for you?" she asked, grinning up at Nathan with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"I wouldn't know," Nathan replied, mildly irritated at being asked when Audrey knew he couldn't feel the heat.

"Your shirt does. You're hot." Looking down at himself, he noticed that his shirt was spotted with sweat. "Not as hot as this poor guy, though. It's like every drop of water was just sucked right on out of him." She lifted up the arm and examined the hand. "As for an ID from prints...Their gonna be tough." She dropped the arm and rose picking up a clipboard. "Fortunately we've got yup - Number 15 Reggie Buzzwell. You ever run a 10K?"

Nathan studied Audrey. "No."

Audrey continued on, forcing cheerfulness into her tone. "I wonder if I ever have. I know Audrey Parker didn't. Maybe Lucy Ripley did."

Nathan was annoyed at Audrey, who appeared to be trying to pretend that everything was fine, that there was no issues in sleepy little Haven. "You can't keep pretending what happened didn't happen. You killed the Rev."

"Nathan, there was a full investigation into my shooting of the Rev, ok. It cleared. It's going to, it's going to fade away." Audrey seemed to believe that if she just believed this hard enough it would come true.

Nathan conceded it could happen in the future, but it wouldn't be anytime in the near future. "Right now it's all anyone's talking about, and people in this town have long memories."

Audrey noticed the town cleaner enter the tent and perked up with a quick, "Hi, Dwight!"

Dwight looked down at the corpse. "Aw man, Reggie? We used to go fishing together."

"I'm sorry," Audrey said in condolence.

Nathan asked, "He was troubled?"

"Yes," Dwight answered.

"Do you know how?" Nathan pressed.

"Maybe it was this?" Dwight continued to look at the corpse. "Hey, he never said, I never asked. A lot of people don't like to talk about it. We were both going to Finnegan's tomorrow night for the meeting."

Audrey looked up sharply, then rose to her feet. "What meeting?"

"Some troubled people are a little worried about the repercussions after what happened to the Rev so we're getting together," Dwight replied.

Nathan shook his head. Things were getting out of hand. "Just people winding each other up."

Dwight turned to Nathan. "Listen we're just talking about how we can start to look out for each other."

Audrey chose that moment to chime in. "Yeah, maybe you should go."

Nathan wanted to reach out and strangle her. She wasn't getting this. Dwight wasn't getting this. They were just going to cause this thing to blow up in everyone's faces.

"Maybe I should shut it down." Before he had a chance to explain further, that one gathering of angry people would lead to another until someone ended up rioting in the streets, there was the sound of angry shouting from outside of the tent. "Get Reggie packed up for the coroner."

Nathan and Audrey left the tent to investigate this new disturbance. Two men were in the street, one clearly a runner from the10K, and another man that looked bewildered at being yelled at. The 10K runner continued his rant "I saw you and Reggie going at it on the course and now that volunteer said he's all dried out? What did you do to him? Huh?"

The other man spoke into the pregnant silence. "I don't know what you're talking about."

The five word question set the runner off on another tangent. "Are you one of those freaks? Your name's Stu, right?"

Nathan thought it best to derail the rant before it got worse, or turned violent. He walked up to the runner and asked "What's your name?"

The runner turned to him, "Patrick Grolsh, taxpayer. Hey, this guy-"

Nathan cut the man off. "Calm down, Mr. Grolsh."

The runner took his anger out on Nathan. "Why, so Haven PD can come in and cover up what happened here? You expect us to just roll over and let these people do whatever they want? And yet another freak walks free. You know that everyone in this town is tired of what's going on and if you screw up again you're going down." Patrick turned his eyes to Audrey. "Both of you." He stormed off.

Nathan rolled his eyes to the heavens and asked for mercy. Audrey shot him an uncertain look, and part of him wondered if she was finally getting it: the Rev's death created at least as many problems for them both as it had solved.

* * *

><p>Back at the station Nathan abandoned Audrey in the lobby the second he saw what number had come up on his phone. The PI Dwight had found for him called back claiming he had information on Lucy Ripley. Finally. It had taken the man weeks to get it. However before he told Audrey, he needed them to be sure. "It's got to be more than a name match; this is really important to me. How sure are you?"<p>

The PI started to explain when Nathan saw Audrey coming towards the office. He cut off the PI. "Got to go. Call me when you've got something solid."

Audrey strode purposefully into the office. She handed Nathan a folder. "Coroner's Report." She walked up behind him and he wished she would get a little bit closer.

Nathan flipped open the files and leafed through the report. "Dehydration inconsistent with exercise."

Audrey asked, "You don't think the trouble is triggered by the stress of the race, do you?"

Nathan considered for moment before answering. "I don't think so. I've never seen a trouble triggered by just physical stress."

Audrey continued looking through the report. "Wait a second, there's a new coroner? What happened to Loures?"

Nathan was not looking forward to the confrontation heading towards them like a mac truck without breaks. Audrey was not going to like the answer he had to give her. "Nothing. I asked Dwight to use a guy in Cleaves Mills. It might be best to keep this case...quiet."

The look Audrey shot him was the near side of scathing. "Yeah, 'cause normally we shout the troubles from the rooftops."

Nathan gathered his patience. Irreverently he thought if this is was the effect withdrawal from regular sex with Duke had on his partner, he was going to geld the bastard for ever touching her in the first place. This new attitude of Audrey's was not pleasant. She was going to get someone killed. "Even quieter than usual. We need to let things die down a little."

As he could have predicted, Audrey took it as an attack. "Nathan, I did what I had to do."

"I'm not questioning that. You saw those people this morning. They're not happy." He was saved from explaining to his partner yet again that even though she had been technically correct in her actions, she still had managed to kick over three hives worth of bees nests in doing so.

"And that's my fault," she said bitterly. Not guiltily, he immediately noted. He stared at her, wondering if she actually expected him to correct her. He wouldn't.

Their potential spat was postponed by his phone ringing. "Wuornos," he answered. Stan filled him in on the details of another desiccated corpse. He replied, "We're on our way," and looked up at Audrey. "We got another dried out body," he explained as he grabbed his coat on his way out the door. Audrey followed.

* * *

><p>They arrived at the well kept home with the lawn that looked like it had been obsessively tended until the owner's untimely demise. The coroner's people were still looking into the body, gruesomely perched on a relatively new lawnmower. Nathan and Audrey had briefly examined the body, but there wasn't much they could decode other than this poor soul had died the same way that Reggie had. They left it to Dwight and the coroner's staff to work out the details and went into the home to interview the widow.<p>

The officers and the widow were gathered at the back of the house, sitting in Adirondack chairs around a small table. The house was still being investigated in case it yielded up any clues as to its owner's untimely demise. The dark haired woman sitting across from Nathan and Audrey had eyes that were red with tears. "Barry warned me before we got married that some day something might happen. I didn't think it would be like this."

Audrey leaned in closer. "I'm sorry Annie, what...what do you mean by 'like this'?"

The woman tried to collect herself before she answered. She was only partially successful. "Barry was...you know."

Nathan entered the conversation. "Troubled?" he asked Annie.

Annie quietly confirmed, "Yeah. He was trying to protect me. He said he was ashamed."

"Anyone else know about his affliction? How it worked?" Nathan asked.

Annie thought for a moment and then replied, "Just family, and his friend, Stu."

"Stu?" Nathan's question was asked almost on top of Annie's declaration.

Barry's widow nodded. "Stu Pierce. He was always talking to Barry about their problems. He even convinced them to go to that stupid meeting he was organizing."

Nathan was surprised. "Stu was organizing that meeting for troubled people tomorrow night? He ran away before I could talk to him."

Audrey also caught on. "And both of our victims were attending."

Nathan and Audrey exchanged glances. Audrey thanked Annie for her time, and promised to let her know what they found out.

* * *

><p>After they left the house, they both agreed that visiting Stu Pierce had just become their next objective. Fortunately the Pierce household was within walking distance of the latest victim's home. As they passed through back yards on the way to the Pierce home, Audrey and Nathan talked about the potential motivations Stu might have had for killing both Reggie and Barry.<p>

"Annie said Stu was compiling a list of troubled people." Nathan ducked around the corner.

Audrey snorted. "What, Stu's some kind of troubled sociopath that collects the names of troubled people and them picks them off one by one?"

Nathan shrugged. He could sort of understand the impulse. "Barry was ashamed of what he was. Maybe Stu hates himself so much he wants to kill people like him."

Audrey turned and stared at Nathan after that statement. "Ok, the fact that you came up with that profile so quickly...that worries me."

"Why?" Nathan shot back. "People throughout history have killed others that remind them of shameful things about themselves. Look at Hitler."

"We're talking about troubled people here, not mass murderers," she protested with a nervous laugh.

Nathan's only response was to raise his eyebrows skeptically. It was the second time recently that she'd denied that troubled people could be murderers. It made him worry about her objectivity.

They turned and found the back door of the house hanging open and the interior of the house told a tale of a struggle.

Nathan observed the mess. "Maybe someone figured out Stu was killing his own."

She pulled out her gun but kept it low. "Or maybe they came for revenge."

The two cautiously entered the house, guns drawn but pointed at an angle to the floor. From inside, they could hear the muffled cries of someone. Audrey headed off to the cries as Nathan checked the remainder of the house.

* * *

><p>Audrey quickly advanced through the chaos of belongings and furniture strewn about the home heading towards the sounds of the person struggling. She finally found the woman who was bound with a piece of tap for a gag. As quick as she could, she removed the gag and worked on freeing the woman from her bonds. "Ma'am! Are you ok?" As Audrey worked, she keep an eye out for any one that could still be left in the house.<p>

The woman was frantic. "Please! My husband!"

Audrey tried to calm her down while continuing to gather information. "Your husband? Your husband did this?"

The woman shook her head. "No, my husband, Stu. They attacked us and they took him away." Audrey had now freed the woman from all of her bonds.

At that moment Nathan returned to the room. "House is clear. They're gone." He rushed over to help Audrey with the blonde on the floor.

Audrey looked up at Nathan and said "I don't think that Stu's the killer. They got him and they've probably got his list too."

Nathan looked grim. "Then whoever took him knows the name of every person going to that meeting."

Audrey realized the full extent of the problem. "Our kidnapper has a hit list."

* * *

><p>Duke was annoyed. He had thought he had brought back all of Evi's clothing to San Francisco, but it appeared she moved in more fully than he had though. In the course of the fifteen minute conversation with his mother-in-law - Was Mrs. Ryan still his mother-in-law? - he had found out that two rings, a watch, and diamond bracelet had gone missing. Duke had found a drawer with some of the items in it and had been collecting them up in a box as he discussed the situation. "No, Mrs. Ryan, I get it. Your daughter liked her secrets. It was part of her charm."<p>

The cold voice on the other end of the line was sending an early frost to Maine. "I want you to send my daughter's things, and anything extra you find. I expect a full inventory of her belongings."

"Uh-huh. Sure. I'll inventory her stuff before I send it." The line disconnected and Duke pressed the button to turn off the phone. "Your grief is touching."

Duke sighed. He picked up the shirt and put it in the box. He would be damned if he was going to fold everything up neatly for that one. However there was something wrapped up in the shirt. He dug it out to find a familiar silver box. "What, she bought it back?" Slowly he opened the box. "Evi" he whispered as he opened the box found the note inside.

All the feelings Duke thought he'd freed himself from weeks ago after the funeral came crashing down on him. "Duke, in case things go bad you should have this. I'm sorry." The note had additional instruction to put the box in his iguana tank. He did his best to clear his thoughts about Evi, reminding himself that their relationship was ever tumultuous.

Maybe he was just destined to be alone. Although he'd deny it to anyone who asked, he was deeply afraid that Audrey didn't want him the way he wanted her. After all, she had blamed him, and accused him of being a turncoat for trying to ferret out the Rev's secrets the only way he knew how to. If she really loved him, she wouldn't have. Would she? He wanted to demand to know what she felt for him, but that would require actually having the courage to speak to her.

Duke opened up the tank and placed the box under the UV light. As the blue light reflected off the surface of the box, the word Crocker appeared. "You have got to be kidding me."

* * *

><p>Audrey, Nathan and Colleen Pierce were in another parlor room. Audrey and Nathan were trying to get as much information as they could to understand who might have taken Stu. "Colleen, um, I need you to tell me anything you can remember about these men that took Stu."<p>

Stu's wife thought back. "Well, they were all wearing masks with gloves and hoods but, um, when they were tying me up on the ground I remember there was something on their leg like a tattoo?"

"In the shape of a circle?" Nathan asked.

"No, it was more like a big number. Like a..." Colleen paused, thinking. "Maybe a 3 and an 8?"

Audrey recognized the numbers, having seen so many of them earlier in the day. "It's not a tattoo, but permanent marker's pretty hard to wash off."

Nathan looked at her, realizing where she was going. "Stu's kidnapper was running in that 10K."

Audrey's eyes light up. "I bet if we check those race numbers for a 3 and an 8, we find out he's Patrick Grolsh."

"Why would this Grolsh have kidnapped Stu?" Colleen demanded to know.

Audrey shot Nathan a look and they silently agreed that it was kinder to keep Colleen in the dark, for as long as they could. "They got into an argument during the race," Audrey offered. "I guess they have their differences."

"You're going to do something about this, aren't you?" Colleen asked, giving Audrey a sinking feeling. The tone of her question was full of faith in their abilities. Something like that could be hard to live up to, especially when it came to cases like theirs.

"We'll do everything we can," Nathan promised calmly.

Audrey only wished that she could believe him as easily as Stu's wife seemed to.

* * *

><p>The race records did show that Patrick Grolsh was registered as number 83. Nathan worried that Audrey, in her passion for making things right, was about to add more gasoline to the fire. They were both in the interrogation room with Patrick Grolsh.<p>

Audrey wasted no time in confronting Grolsh. "We have your race number and we say you arguing with Stu, alright. Why did you kidnap him? Did you decide killing Reggie and Barry wasn't enough?"

Patrick fired right back at her. "You're nuts. I heard what happened to those two. How could I have done it? Huh?"

Nathan tried to intervene, and yet support Audrey. "Maybe you used your affliction?"

Patrick didn't appreciate the comment. "Are you suggesting I'm troubled?"

Audrey immediately resumed her attack. "Or you are working with someone who is."

Nathan could read the disgust in Grolsh's face. Patrick leaned back against the chair. "Look, all you have is half a number on a leg."

"Ok, Listen, I don't know what your lawyer told you..." Audrey started.

Grolsh shut her down. "Lady, I am a lawyer. And I have witnesses that saw you harassing me at the race. And now you drag me in here with no probable cause? I'm filing a suit. A very public suit."

Nathan knew he needed to shut this down before Audrey made it worse. The department, and Audrey, didn't need any more trouble right now. He got up and opened the door to the interrogation room and waved Grolsh through it.

Audrey looked with incredulity at the gesture. "No," she said, full of anger and betrayal.

"Good luck finding your friend," Grolsh smirked back at the two before hastily exiting the station. Nathan swung the door close. It would be better to take Audrey's wrath onto himself than let her chase after Grolsh and have her continue to give him cause for his forthcoming suit.

True to form, she turned on him. "I can't believe you just did that!" She stormed towards Nathan.

"Shhh. I am trying to protect you." Nathan leaned into Audrey, trying to get her to see the sincerity of her eyes, and trying to get her to understand the peril she was putting herself into if she continued to charge after Patrick Grolsh.

Audrey wasn't calming down. "Because suddenly I need protecting now? Why, because I was the only one that had the nerve to shoot a guy that was going to kill a little girl?"

"A troubled little girl who happened to be a cannibal and the man you shot was the Rev, one of this town's leaders!" He felt like screaming. "How could you not have known that there would be repercussions?"

Nathan didn't understand the blind spot Audrey had for the troubled. She seemed to think that no matter what, the troubled could be saved, and she had an unnerving tendency to overlook the crimes they did commit. He did understand that you couldn't prosecute the troubled in a normal court of law, but still, being troubled didn't automatically make a person a saint or a misunderstood victim. There were always those that used their abilities for their own gain, or to harm others, such as Ian.

"Is that what you're worried about? What the town thinks?" Audrey hissed. "What about what you think, Nathan. You know actually since this whole thing started you haven't said what you think so tell me, do you think I did the right thing?"

That was a loaded question if Nathan ever heard one. However he knew only one answer would satisfy Audrey. "Yes. I know you did what you had to do to save that girl's life. But right now, my opinion doesn't matter and I can't do my job if I'm under indictment."

He did know, but he still did wonder, how much of Audrey's aim was driven by her hatred of the Rev and how much was necessary removal of a threat. She followed the letter of the law, but he wondered if in her passion, she broke the spirit of it. Still, she didn't need to hear his doubts.

Her absolute, willing blindness to the consequences of her actions he couldn't tolerate, though. If not for his precarious position, then for Audrey's own safety. It made his voice somewhat harsher than he intended when he told her, "People are just looking for an excuse so at least one of us has to follow procedure. Obviously that one is me."

Audrey glared at him. "It wasn't...it wasn't just about saving that one girl, Nathan."

She stormed out of the interrogation room and he had a sudden understanding why his father had told him that it was so hard to keep this town together. It seemed like someone was always trying to shove one side or the other off the edge into madness.

* * *

><p>an:_ So...earlier on in the writing process, I had Duke and Audrey talk right at the beginning of this chapter, before Faerex's version of "Business as Usual" began (it turned into a much longer, joint effort as time went on and we added our own scenes as necessary, but in the beginning this episode was hers). Faerax read the scene between Audrey and Duke and said it was nice, but she had a better idea. I was skeptical, but it turns out that her idea was __**much**__ better. You'll see..._


	18. I Spy

Later

Nathan was driving the Bronco down the long, twisting coastal highway. It was the main way by which the tourists entered into Haven, and even at this late date in the season, they proved completely incapable of driving. There had been a three car wreck three miles down the road, involving some very polite Canadians, a stoic downeaster, and a very belligerent person from Pennsylvania that seemed very upset to have missed the peak foliage. Things hadn't improved when the local had suggested that New Englanders had strict rules about foliage viewing and that by local ordinance removed all the leaves at the declared end of the season. Nathan had barely stopped it from getting farther than violent words. He was very glad to be rid of the whole lot of them and be back on his way to the station.

The road brought him down to the rocky headland that once held the lighthouse. He wondered, idly, as he saw the ruins, where Beattie, or rather, where Helena spent her nights now. She had been safely locked in her tower, until her tower was destroyed. Nathan nearly drove off the road when he realized that his father had caused that. _Crap_, he thought, _now I'm going to be wondering where she's holing up to ensure that she's secured whenever Helena wants to come out to play_.

Nathan ground his teeth as he realized that would bring him over to the marina, but realized when he realized that Duke was likely to be over at The Gull, he relaxed. Duke was far, far more irritating than out-of-towners testing the laws of physics on Haven's roads. The recent argument between Audrey and the smuggler had made Audrey more and more irritable. Dealing with Duke's selfishness was the last thing she needed. She had enough stress in her life. Once again he cursed himself for being too late to make his intentions known to a woman he loved. If nothing else, it would have saved him the confusion of emotions he felt now that Jess was back.

Nathan didn't deal well with emotions. His father had adamantly believed in being the strong, silent type. As a boy, Nathan was taught to not show emotion, that it was unmanly. Consequently, he had a very, very hard time dealing with the feelings the two women evoked in him. His relationship with Audrey was like being on a half-built rollercoaster where he was never sure when the tracks ended. In the past year he'd been annoyed by her, fascinated by her, frustrated by her and eventually at least halfway in love with her. Throughout it all she had viewed him as a "friend" despite his best efforts to make her see him as a potential life partner in addition to a fellow cop and her sometimes boss. He lost her once to Chris, and then again to Duke. Then she and Duke had fought and for a few days he thought he had a chance before things got better between them. And now they were much worse. It wasn't like Duke was one for a long term commitment, so maybe this was the beginning of the end.

However during this same time frame, Jess had come back to town, stirring up all the old echoes of their relationship. Nathan began to realize that he still loved Jess after spending the day in her attic. Jess had left him, but she had come back, and had shown she was willing to mend their burnt bridges. Hell, she was willing to rebuild them from scratch. She didn't blame him for being angry at her, and she never asked more of him that he was willing to give. Audrey always wanted more words, but Jess could read his expressions like a book. Now he was in love with two women and frankly he didn't know what to do about it.

* * *

><p>It was too late in the day to expect to see Beattie at her office at the Marina. Instead, he drove out to Little Neck road. He was forced to park around the corner as one of her neighbors appeared to be throwing a large party. He walked up the road, and saw that the driveway had a familiar yellow truck in it. Nathan paused beside a large SUV. Beattie's door opened and Duke strolled out. Nathan was in danger of cracking a molar went the bastard was called back to the house. Beattie hugged him, and he smiled. Duke skipped down the steps whistling brightly. He slammed the door and navigated down the street, presumably back to The Gull or his boat.<p>

Nathan could not believe what he had just seen. It was a new low for Duke. It also showed to him that whatever relationship the other man and Audrey had was unequivocally unsalvageable. Audrey would not forgive the man for seeing another woman. Maybe there was still hope after all for a relationship with Audrey...

Nathan gave himself a few minutes to ensure Duke was gone and Beattie wasn't expecting any more visitors. He didn't want Beattie to know that he'd seen Duke leaving her home. After all, it wasn't as if she had done anything wrong, or that Duke was the reason for his visit. He did still want to talk to her about Helena and how that problem was being contained.

As he waited, he wondered if he should come out and tell Audrey what he had seen. He didn't want to be the messenger that got shot, but he didn't want her hurt when she found out from someone else that her rogue had gone smuggling someone else's cargo, or worse yet, they got back together and she never found out that Duke had a habit of wandering, and not just the leaving town kind. He couldn't let her live with that kind of deceit. The detective wrestled with that particular problem for a few minutes before deciding to ask Jess what she thought. It couldn't hurt to get a second opinion, and Nathan had no desire to hurt Audrey. Having a plan of action made him feel better.

Resolutely, he approached Beattie's home and rang the door bell. Beattie greeted him politely and invited him in. After a few moments of social niceties, Nathan got to the point. "Beattie, where is Helena being kept?"

She stopped, looking concerned. "Please don't tell me that there have been more bodies. She hasn't gotten out, I don't think. But Abby's been gone a couple of weeks and only just returned. I've had to look after Helena myself." Her eyes flicked up the stairs to where Abby's room was. The older African American woman had not left after Beattie's third child was born, staying instead to help with the two babies the woman had kept and keep Helena under control. "I can get Abby, she's just upstairs, resting after her trip. She got back yesterday."

Nathan shook his head. "No Beattie. Helena has not been responsible for any deaths. Though I imagine you'd be the first to know that." Nathan smiled tightly. Beattie's, Helena's, the woman's children killed their fathers, draining them of life over three days. She and Duke had had a child together, one that had nearly cost the smuggler his life last year. Nathan would have thought he would have learned from that experience.

Beattie practically melted with relief. "Oh, that's good. You know, after the lighthouse collapsed, I wasn't sure what we were going to do, but Abby figured it out. No one goes up to the old summer camp in East Haven. Abby and I, we make sure that Helena stays in one of the cabins out in the woods there. But why do you need to know?"

Nathan sighed. "I realized today as I was out on the coastal highway I had no idea where Helena was being kept at night. I hadn't really thought about it before today when I drove by where the lighthouse used to be."

"Oh. Yes, Abby and I are determined that not one more child will come into this world by killing its father." Beattie nodded emphatically. "Still, I do love my children. I hope my little girls don't inherit the curse. Or my little boy, for that matter."

"Have you noticed anything different about them?" he asked, curious.

"No, they seem perfectly normal, or so Abby tells me. I'm not sure I'm qualified to tell you what's normal." The harbor master smiled self-deprecatingly.

"Well, now that I now that you and Abby had things well in hand, I better be going. Thank you for your time, Beattie." The detective nodded and rose up. Beattie showed him to the door, and he began the walk back to his truck. On his way there, he called Jess to see if she could talk to him.

* * *

><p>Jess answered the door and her smile was warm and inviting. It made Nathan feel like he was coming home. That in turn caused all his confusion about his emotions for the two primary women in his life to rear up again. He couldn't deny that he had feelings for the Canadian woman. Of course, some of those feelings included the pain at being so abruptly left behind. He definitely did want to be a friend to her at the very least, though. He just wasn't sure he could trust his heart to her again.<p>

Together the two migrated to the kitchen. It was light and airy, and the western facing windows caught the rising moon through the trees. This late in the year, it got dark very quickly. Jess made two cups of coffee and set them with a quiet clunk on the table. The two were sitting adjacent from each other, watching the stars peek out from the tops of the trees as the sky got darker and darker. The coffee was hot; Nathan could see the vapor rising from the top of the cup. He waited until it dispelled and then drank deeply. Whatever Jess added to her coffee made it delicious.

After a few moments of considerate silence, Jess broke the stillness. "So, you said you wanted to talk?"

The big detective sighed. "Yeah. I saw something today that bothered me. Really bothered me. But I don't know if I should tell the person most affected by this."

"I can't help you if I don't know the details," she prompted.

Nathan put down his coffee and rested his arms loosely on the table. He studied the wood grain as he spoke. "I saw Duke leaving the harbor master's house today. After he left, she called him back to the house to hug him before he left. He was in a really, really good mood when he got into his car."

"And that makes him automatically guilty of something?" Jess's eyebrows rose in question.

Nathan sighed. "You know that he and Audrey fought. She's been upset ever since then. You didn't grow up here, so you don't know, but Duke doesn't have a 'relationship mourning period.' He's rather like a rooster. He will just take up with the next hen that comes along."

Jess snorted. "And that's why he went out west to deliver his wife's body to her family. Why he almost got himself killed according to you, to catch his wife's killers."

"I know he slept with Helena while still married to Evi," Nathan retorted.

"Are you sure he considered himself married to her at that point? The legal agreement may have been there, but I don't think the spiritual or social contract had been upheld at that point. And it seems to me that Evi had no problem with flirting with anything male based on the stories I've heard," Jess observed.

Nathan rolled his eyes. Why were all the woman in town determined to defend the bastard? "I think Duke has a very loose definition of monogamy, and I'm worried that since he argued with Audrey, he thinks that the term no longer applies to him with relation to Audrey."

Jess laughed, and Nathan glared. "You don't understand, Nathan. I find it a miracle that most of humanity is monogamous. In animals, it is in the males' best interest to sow his seed as far and as wide as possible. It is the females' best interest to find a mate that will provide for her and her offspring the best possible way. I think that is the basis for the war of the sexes."

The detective blinked. "So you think his behavior is acceptable because of evolutionary theory?" The exasperation was plain in Nathan's voice.

"No, but I think it helps explain why men seek out variety, and why some men cannot seem to stop themselves," she replied.

"I never looked at another woman when I was with you," he answered, angrily.

Jess snorted again. "I believe the correct colloquialism is 'pull the other one, it jingles.' Nathan, you may not realize it, but you used to look at Audrey even when you were with me. You never hesitated to answer her calls, or drop me for her."

Nathan winced, stung. He distinctly remembered a romantic moment being interrupted by Audrey calling and Jess telling him before he even answered the phone who it was, because it was always Audrey. "That was different, she was still new in town and..."

"And you didn't want her calling Duke because you were unavailable. Nathan, you don't have to explain yourself to me, I didn't care so long as you didn't touch her," the brunette interrupted. "Although it did make our relationship rather like a two-wheeled bike with a training wheel still attached."

Nathan glared at the table, and if it had sense it would have trembled under that gaze. "I think I should tell Audrey about Duke and Beattie."

"I suspect that what you saw was not what you thought you saw. Before you tell Audrey and drive a spike even further between them, you ask Duke about what you saw." Jess had steel in her voice.

"Duke will just lie." Nathan's tone made it clear that that option had already been discarded.

"Then ask Beattie, or Abby," Jess said, striving for a reasonable tone.

"They'll just lie for him," he answered.

Jess stared at Nathan. "You really think that the man who was nearly killed by this woman's alter ego would just go running to her again after an argument with Audrey, even one this big?"

Nathan met her stare with interest. "I think Duke has always been self destructive, and I don't think he cares enough about anyone else to consider how they feel."

"I think that you are too blind in your rivalry with Duke to see the situation clearly. I think that you are entirely too interested in Audrey and Duke's business." She reached out to touch his hand, before deciding against it. "Just promise me you'll talk to Duke before you break Audrey's heart for him."

Nathan's anger was apparent, but he agreed to Jess's request with a short nod. "Fine."

Privately Nathan decided that hell would freeze over before he would believe anything Duke told him. He took his leave of Jess, idly wondering why he thought he wanted to rekindle their romance.

* * *

><p>The Next Day<p>

Duke had spent the better part of a frustrating morning searching for the Haven Herald's writers and publishers. He was thrilled when he found them just down the street from where he parked his Land Rover. "Teague and Teague Incorporated! I've been looking for you boys."

The two brothers exchanged a glance and had an entire conversation. They both turned to Duke, cautiously and wary. "Had to help with the deliveries," Dave commented.

Vince added, "Paper's already on its third edition." They continued stuffing papers into the news paper box. "Everybody wants to read about the Rev."

Duke grimaced. "Yeah, I think I'll wait for the movie. I was hoping I could show you boys something." He reached into his bag and produced the silver box, which had been carefully wrapped up in a blue handkerchief. "What do you think it is?"

Vince looked at the box, and for a moment Duke though he saw something much more calculating in his dark gaze than was normal, but it was gone as quickly as it came. "A silver box?"

"Yes," Dave quickly agreed.

Prepared for the two brothers to play the game of "we don't know anything, really" Duke pulled out a small light and turned it on. He passed it slowly over the top of the silver box and the word Crocker appeared.

"Well lookee that! Very interesting." Dave took careful note of the box's magic trick.

Vince tried to pass it off as nothing so unusual. "It still looks like a silver box to me."

Dave motioned to the box. "Can I see that?" He made a quick examination of it. "Well, I've seen this design before. It's one of our early silversmiths."

Vince's glare could be felt by Duke, and he was getting the distinct impression that the two brothers were at odds over this, some how. "You think you could find out any more about this box? What the hell it has to do with the Crockers? If my father ever owned it?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, Duke, we're just too busy right now to take on another project." Vince's denial didn't seem to ring true. It was made more questionable by Dave's quick offer of help.

"I'd be happy to do a little research. Shouldn't take long at all." Dave smiled, looking particularly pleased with himself.

"'Kay," Duke said warily. Something had to be seriously wrong to set the Teagues to disagreeing like this.

Dave picked up on Duke's attitude and tried to reassure him. "D'oh. Vince didn't get a lot of sleep last night. Shellfish before bed."

After a startled second, Vince agreed. "Yeah, I'm uh sorry for my irritability. Ah well, why don't you just leave the box with us?" Vince reached out, attempting to grab it.

Duke smiled, not in the least reassured by the little play that the Teagues had put on, pulling away from Vince's hand. "You know, I uh think the box should stay with me. Dave?"

"Hmm?" Dave still looked entirely too pleased with whatever was going on around this box.

"You'll let me know if you find anything?" Duke asked.

"Be happy too," Dave replied pleasantly.

Duke backed away from the two brothers, still wary of whatever was going on between them. He had never known the two to be divided before. "You have a nice day, gentlemen."

As he turned his back on them he heard them turn on each other. Though he couldn't hear the words, the tone said that whatever the box was, it was definitely the source of trouble between the two men. He was somewhat relieved to leave them both behind.

* * *

><p>"You look cheerful," Nathan remarked as Audrey got her coat early that evening. She thought she detected a hint of suspicion to his expression and was tempted to tell him not to worry, she and Duke hadn't made up yet but the thought just depressed her. So she settled for, "Jess and I are finally going to catch up tonight."<p>

A girls night out was just what she needed to keep her mind off the fact that they were getting nowhere with the search for the missing, troubled, Stu. Nathan wouldn't say it aloud, but she was convinced that he'd already written the man off as dead. She wasn't willing to yet. It couldn't keep her mind off of her largely silent fight with Duke, but then, nothing had been doing that...every night she dreamed of a different way for them to finally break up.

"What are you doing?" Nathan asked a little too curiously.

She smirked at him before saying "wouldn't you like to know?" in a childishly singsong tone. It was worth it just to see him grimace.

"I just wanted to know if there would be a pillow fight involved," he said solemnly.

Audrey swatted at him. "Nathan! You sound like…" She almost said Duke. "…a, a frat boy."

"I was one, you know," Nathan told her.

"You were not." She studied his face. "Were you?"

"Cross my heart and hope to die."

"No way!" Shaking her head, she confessed, "I just can't see that at all."

"Maybe I'm not as open a book as you think."

"Funny, but I hardly think that at all."

"Stay out of trouble," he teased. "That Jess girl can be a bad influence."

"I sure hope so."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile<p>

It had been a long day. A very long day and Duke was glad to park his vehicle. What he wasn't so glad about was the light he noticed shining in the pilot's house. Hope that it might be Audrey come to apologize was born only to suffer a quick death. She might have waited for him inside looking abashed, but she wouldn't be trying so hard not to be noticed. Whoever it was, they'd taken pains to hide their means of transportation away, and only had one light on.

Quietly as he could, he boarded the boat and reached up into a circuit breaker box to grab the gun he kept stashed there. He carefully entered the darkened galley, intent on surprising his unwanted house guest. Best case scenario, it was Nathan come to ambush him about his involvement with the Rev. He didn't even want to think about the worst case scenario.

The fight was brutal and short. Duke was attacked seconds after entered the galley, and disarmed. He and his attacker exchanged quick blows and Duke was somewhat surprised and how heavy the attacker hit. Duke tried to escape but his attacker caught him up and attempted to throw him out the door, but Duke pushed back, using his legs for leverage and prayed he wouldn't become a wishbone. Eventually he pushed back hard enough that his attacker staggered, but quickly rallied. He was carried into his own galley, where he finally managed to over balance his attacker and land an elbow to the thief's face.

Duke used the moment to try to catch his breath, but the assailant renewed his attack, punching the smuggler in the face, then in the stomach, causing him to double over. The thief underestimated Duke's recovery. Duke grabbed for the mostly empty liquor bottle on the table and broke it over the thief's head, then ran for the light. He flicked the switch and was amazed to see Dwight across the galley. "Sasquatch?"

In the galley, both men saw the silver box on the floor. The two lunged for it and lay hands on it. In the fierce tug of war the box gave way and left each man with a part. However in the separation, a silver key flew out and threw out a brief sparkle before bouncing on the decking.

Duke was the first after the key and managed to secure it, leaving the box for Dwight. After he came up to his feet, he paused and tried to anticipate what Dwight would do now: Duke grabbed a hook used to drag fish on board. Dwight responded by grabbing the saber over the door.

Duke re-evaluated his options. Dwight had the box and a sword, and the hook wasn't going to be much use against that. He also was barely breathing hard, and Duke was already panting. He was a smuggler, not a hand to hand combatant. Perhaps talking would be a better route. "Heh, you know, we don't talk enough, me and you."

Dwight seemed inclined to converse, clearly bemused by Duke's sudden change of tactics. "This don't have to get ugly. I walk out of here, it's over."

"Great! If you don't mind, you can just leave the box on the umbrella stand on the way out." Duke thought that was gracious enough.

Staring down Duke, Dwight demanded "Give me the key."

That would not happen. "Do I actually have to say now to that or can I assume it was a rhetorical statement?" The key was obviously very important, perhaps more important than the box itself. Duke would prefer to keep them both together, but he could always steal the box back from Dwight if the occasion warranted.

"Funny." Dwight didn't leave, with or without the box.

Duke thought for a moment and recalled the incident between himself and the Teagues. As far as he knew, they were the only ones that knew for certain he had the box. And only one of them had wanted it. "Vince sent you, didn't he?"

Dwight replied with a guarded, "If you say so."

"Dave is helping me, so it begs the question what's so important about that thing that it's got the two of them turning on each other?" The solidarity of the Teague boys was legendary in Haven. Dwight had never come across to Duke as lacking in intelligence. Quite the opposite, actually. Duke knew first hand how smart the cleaner had to be to hide the troubled crimes in Haven. He hoped Dwight's curiosity could be used to help him unravel this mystery, starting with the division of the Teagues.

"I didn't ask," Dwight answered, but it was obvious from his stance and the fact that he had not yet run Duke through with the sword, that there was potential here.

Duke recovered his breath. "I think you did. I think that Vince clammed up on you. Come on, aren't you even a little bit curious?"

"Alright, so why don't you tell me?" Dwight asked reasonably.

"I'd love to but, uh, I don't have a freaking clue." Duke thought that it would be safe to put down his hook. Instead, he grabbed a bottle of alcohol and two glasses. "Vince and Dave know what it is, but they don't want us to know." Duke turned to Dwight, and poured out two glasses. "They are playing us against each other. So, do we go back to kicking each other's sses or do we find out the truth?"

He put down the second glass of whiskey as far from him and towards Dwight as he could at the conclusion of his question. It settled with a solid thump.

* * *

><p>an: _Have Faerax's recent developments left you on the edge of your seat? Let her know! She's reading your feedback too._


	19. Smoke

Burning Flagstones might not have been the very worst band that Audrey ever had the privilege of seeing live, but as she and Jess made their way to a small table in a not terribly crowded room while listening to a song called "That Dick Has Sailed," she put them in the top three.

She still couldn't tell if Jess actually liked the band, or if she was only there because one of the orderlies from the hospital was in it. Audrey hoped that it was the latter, because the former would be a display deplorable taste.

Either way, Jess didn't waste any time getting to the point as soon as they took their seats. "Have you spoken to Duke since your fight?"

"No," Audrey admitted, already predicting her friend's reaction.

"Audrey!" There it was. "One of you is going to have to make the first move."

"I know. I just think it should be him."

Jess tilted her head. "Why?"

"Because he's madder at me than I am at him. What if I tried to make things right but I just push him farther away if he's not ready to talk?"

She assumed that Jess would immediately tell her not to be a baby. But Jess nodded slowly. "That's a danger, to be sure."

"So you're not going to suggest throwing caution to the wind?"

Jess gave her a long look. "Do I strike you as the reckless sort?"

Audrey only had to think about this for a second. "Absolutely not."

"Then it would be quite hypocritical of me to counsel you to do things I wouldn't."

It was Audrey's turn to study Jess. She wondered what the undercurrent to Jess's remark was. Somehow, she was fairly certain that the woman's feelings for Nathan were wrapped up in it.

* * *

><p>There were two things that Jess couldn't say to Audrey.<p>

The first was that she secretly worried that Audrey and Duke were fighting because of her. That somehow her presence during the hunt for that missing boy had caused the two of them to fight. She didn't say it, because it seemed as though it would be a narcissistic conceit considering that the Rev's death was probably a big enough issue to drive a wedge between them. Still, she couldn't help but wonder if they might've made up by now if she had never returned to Haven.

The second thing that she couldn't say was that the uncertainty of what would happen between Audrey and Duke caused her angst as well. Not only because she considered Audrey her friend and liked Duke well enough so she cared for their well being, but because it threw Nathan's feelings into an obvious confusion. For a pathetically short amount of time she had allowed herself to think that she and Nathan were moving forward, but then just two days later it had suddenly seemed like Audrey was on the verge of a breakup, and she didn't like the ideas that clearly gave Nathan. It was painful watching a dormant hope spring back to life.

The part she was most annoyed with, however, was a Nathan seemed utterly incapable of seeing that it didn't matter Audrey broke up with Duke - she wasn't going to suddenly returned his interest. Or so Jess fervently hoped. She didn't think that her conviction about this was just a self-serving delusion. And it bothered her that Nathan was so concerned that Audrey would get hurt, but was completely heedless of his own risk of psychological injury.

"What are you thinking so hard about?" Audrey asked, breaking her reverie.

Jess blinked in mild confusion, suddenly realizing that Burning Flagstones had at some point moved on to torturing a new song. "Uh…nothing worth sharing."

Audrey smirked at her. "I'll bet."

"Really," Jess demurred.

"Okay." Audrey made a gesture of surrender. "So, I was thinking, I can't be the only one who considers you a good friend to have."

"What?" Jess suddenly found herself needing to tamp down spontaneous agitation: she just wasn't sure she could grin and bear another round of having Nathan labeled her friend.

Audrey waved towards the stage, where the lead singer was busy imitating the sound of a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "A lot of people would consider enduring this well beyond the bounds of a new friendship. So, your little orderly friend must love you."

"They're not that bad," Jess protested automatically. Audrey just gave her a hard stare. "All right, they are."

"Can we just duck out after waving when they finish? We don't want them to hope we're groupies who can be counted upon to show up at every concert." Audrey grinned at her before adding, "You might be a superfriend, and I love ya, but I don't have it in me to be a good enough friend to come with you to any more shows. I mean, if someone threatened to kill you if I refused, okay. But other than that…"

Jess wrinkled her nose. "Groupies? They're only about nineteen."

"You ever see that **Cougar Town** show? They could totally have groupies our age."

"We're not the same age," Jess reminded her.

"Are you saying I'm immature?" Audrey retorted.

"Well…"

"Hey!"

After a few more songs, Burning Flagstones mercifully called it a night. To Jess's surprise, Zack, the young orderly who'd taken a job at the hospital just after graduating that summer, was swarmed by a flock of young women. Listening to the girls gush about how good the band was left her shaking her head in bewilderment.

"There." Audrey pointed as they stood to leave. "That's the reason you'll politely reject further invites without feeling guilty. Girls too young to have decent taste in music love them. God help the future of our country-"

"Now you sound like a curmudgeon instead of immature."

"Must be because I hang out with you old folks."

Jess scowled before breaking into a smile. "Come on. Want to go next door for some ice cream before we go home?"

"Okay…you all understand that ice came during the winter is nuts, though, right?"

Jess pushed open the door. "Winter doesn't begin for weeks yet."

"If you say so..."

* * *

><p>The craving for black-and-white frappe convinced Nathan to visit the new Coldstone Creamery that had opened one town over that summer. It had originally had been proposed to be built in Haven, but residents had become extra protective of Benjy since the incident that had resulted in the demise of many of his beloved cows. Nathan didn't blame people - if Benjy's was open that late, he'd gone there himself instead.<p>

When the door to the coffee house adjoining Coldstone Creamery swung open, he stepped back to avoid it. And was shocked to recognize the mirthful pair of women leaving the coffeehouse.

"Nathan," Jess said, giving him a welcoming smile. One that he found himself wondering if he deserved after his negative thoughts about her regarding her opinion of Duke's indiscretion.

Audrey, on the other hand, did her best to look aggrieved, but her eyes remained merry. "Jeez, did you bug my car?"

"No," he denied. "I just had a craving for a frappe."

Audrey looked from him to Jess. "You too. It is cold out. You both realize that, right?"

They exchanged a look. "Yes."

"I really don't know about you two…"

Jess tugged on his arm. "Come on, we can enjoy ourselves with frozen confections even if she won't."

"I didn't say I wouldn't get any," Audrey protested. "I just wanted to make it clear that you're both weird. But it's probably good that you found someone with compatible ice cream idiosyncrasies."

For a moment Nathan wondered if she meant to infuse the compatibility comment with a deeper meaning, but she immediately began to tease Jess about the flavor of ice cream she was ordering, so he decided that any compatibility subtext he could pick up on was of his own authoring alone.

Nudging his way between them, he slung an arm around each of their necks. "Come on, Jess. We'll hold her down and force feed her the strangest flavor on the menu."

"Something with jimmies," Jess suggested.

"They're sprinkles!" Audrey howled, but made no move to get away.

"And M&Ms," Nathan agreed.

"But they get all hard to chew," Audrey whined.

"Suck it up, Parker."

The three were still playfully arguing as they entered the shop, and Nathan felt happier than he had in days. But he tried not to portion out which of his companions was responsible for what percentage of his feelings of goodwill.

* * *

><p>The Following Day<p>

To Nathan's frustration, Audrey took off abruptly on her own that afternoon, her good mood from the night before already depleted. When it had been too long for her to have reasonably been out getting something for lunch, he began to look for his wayward partner. Eventually he found Audrey's sedan parked down the street from one of Patrick Grolsh's known haunts.

"How did you find Patrick?" he asked as he dropped into the passenger seat of Audrey's car.

She barely took her eyes off the street in front of her. "I put an APB out on his car."

_Of course_, Nathan seethed to himself. "He's a lawyer, Parker. You're just making his case stronger." He paused, frustrated with her and with himself. She had been avoiding him all day, and had barely spoke a civil word to him since he had refused to bring Grolsh in for another round of questioning that morning. "Why am I the bad guy for trying to help you keep your job?"

She turned to him, granting him her full attention. "You're not a bad guy. It's just my ability to help troubled people. I don't...I don't think that comes from Audrey Parker or Lucy Ripley. I think that that's just me. I think it may be the only thing that is, so I need to keep on doing that even if it means bending the law."

_She's turned her personal crisis into a town crisis_, Nathan thought. He knew she was upset by finding out that she was not Audrey Parker, but he had no idea that it was tearing at her this badly. In her blind pursuit to find out who she was, she was going to destroy herself, and perhaps half the town with her. He needed to make her see reason. Someone had to save Audrey from herself.

"There's bending and there's breaking. The way you're going it's a matter of time until you're suspended or fired."

"I don't care!" she replied, visibly upset and determined to hold on to the only thing she thought of as hers.

"How about arrested? You going to help people from a jail cell?" Nathan continued to try to make her see reason.

Audrey dodged the question, sighting her prey. "That's Patrick."

"Wait, what...what are you going to do?" he asked, visions of another inquiry in his head.

Audrey turned to him, her expression clearly explaining that she though that right now, Nathan was the most moronic resident of Haven. "Nathan, that man is jay-walking!" She got out of the car to chase after Patrick Grolsh.

Nathan paused for a moment, envisioning all the ways this could go wrong and trying to come up with a way it could turn out right. He didn't find one. "Oh damnit!" he whispered, going after her.

* * *

><p>Duke paced in the galley. Audrey had wondered aloud once if he could ever stay still when he was conscious. He was always in motion for some reason or another, fixing things, working on something. The last time he'd been on the phone in her presence, she'd threatened to shoot him because of his incessant pacing.<p>

Dave continued to talk on the other end of the line, unaware of Duke's motion. "It was, uh, commissioned by Fitzwilliam Crocker in 1786. He's one of your distant ancestors."

"Any idea about what it was supposed to be used for? Snuff? Cufflinks? Colonial condoms?" Duke asked. Normally the last comment would have made him smile, but as he said it, all it did was make him feel a pang of misery.

Duke could hear Dave's amusement over the line. "I've no record about that but, uh, it was originally designed as a set. The silver box you have is actually the smaller of the two."

"I'm going to have to look into that. Uh, great work, Dave." Duke hung up.

"Smooth." Dwight emerged from the shadows as he spoke.

Duke smiled. "Yeah, it's kind of what I do."

Dwight nodded. "Yeah, which makes me wonder if I'm making a mistake working with you."

"You're not," Duke was quick to deny. He did not want to get into another fight with Dwight. His bruises from the last go around were still sore.

"Besides, if I am, I can always change my mind," Dwight added.

"Glad to see we're on the same page." Duke dug into his front pocket and produced the key. "I bet you this key opens the other box Dave was taking about." Curiosity had seemingly won Dwight to his side, and Duke hoped that using curiosity would keep Dwight on his side.

It seemed to be working. "Your dad never told you about it?" Dwight asked, clearly curious as to why Duke knew so little about what seemed to be a family relic.

"No. But our conversations were mostly limited to 'Run down to the liquor store and get me some Camel Longs and a six pack.'" Duke still remembered the rage he felt for his father. The man had been useless in life and in death as far as he was concerned. "Relaying the details of our family history was pretty low on his list of priorities, but from what little I gathered, my grandpa was a right bastard too."

"Your dad sounds a lot like my old man," Dwight offered.

Duke raised his eyebrows. "Huh. Did you two get along?"

The big blond shook his head. "No. So if your dad had the box, where'd he put it?"

"If Simon Crocker was anything, he was careful. If it was valuable, he hid it." Duke paused, considering what he knew of his father and where he might have taken any valuables. It was a hard thing to suss out, because until then he hadn't thought of Simon Crocker as the kind of guy to have any valuables to hide.

Dwight asked, "Any ideas where?"

A few more minutes of thought brought him the answer. "We need to find his old boat. Come on."

Together, they left in search for Simon Crocker's last known address.

* * *

><p>In the dark warehouse, Patrick Grolsh's yelling could be heard echoing off the walls. "Get these handcuffs off me! You have no cause to keep me here!"<p>

"This...This is text book harassment," Nathan warned Audrey.

Her answer was more to Patrick Grolsh than to Nathan. "State law: you need to cross at the corners."

Nathan continued to try to convince Audrey that she was in over her head. "You know what, I was wrong. It's not that you don't care about getting fired, you want to get fired."

She looked at him with a 'you're nuts' expression. "I'll be fine."

It failed to reassure him. "I won't."

It was clear to him that she thought he was over-reacting. "Nathan, you're a good cop, ok? You're going to be ok."

"I won't be fine," he whispered. "This isn't just about work, Parker. You are not just my partner. Not anymore." He hoped she understood he was trying to say 'I love you'. Judging from her expression, it seemed like she seemed a little shocked, like his real message had finally come through to her. "Audrey-"

The fire alarm cut off his words, and they looked up to see smoke dancing down the stairs. "Are you trying to burn the evidence?" Audrey asked Grolsh. "Are you trying to kill him? Where is Stu Pierce! Is he upstairs?"

"Why don't you check?" Grolsh retorted snidely. "If he is, he's probably going to need a hand."

Audrey met Grolsh's gaze for a few moments before storming across the room. She ran into the barrier of Nathan's arm. "Wait. We don't even know what his trouble is. There is a reason he wants you to go up there!" His concern for her safety forced him to try to stop her.

Audrey would not be deterred. "Nathan, listen. You take care of him," Audrey pointed behind her to Grolsh, "I'm going to go find Stu. I'm going to be ok. Alright?" Audrey disappeared into the smoke.

Nathan shook his head and moved Patrick Grolsh out of the burning building before calling in the fire department. For one surprised moment he felt a jolt of empathy for Duke: love and affection were never higher callings than duty for Audrey.

* * *

><p>Audrey leaned down, trying to stay below the smoke. "Stu, where are you?" she yelled.<p>

The echoes of Nathan's words did not drown out someone's muffled yells. This was a really, really bad time for Nathan to confess that he loved her. Or nearly confess. Well, confess in Nathanese, which she had long since become fluent in.

She ran to the door, nearly hidden in the walls where the smoke was coming from. The yells were becoming more urgent. She tried the handle and burnt her hand on the door. She kicked it open and got a face full of smoke for her efforts.

Audrey ran into the small room, ducking away from the fire. At the other end, in front of a window, she saw Stu tied to a chair. Quickly she made her way across the room. "I'm going to get you out of here," she reassured Stu as she ripped the duct tape from his mouth.

"You can't touch me, my sweat, it kills people!" Stu warned her.

She looked up as she undid the tape that bound him to the chair. "Don't worry, you're not going to hurt me."

"You...You're Audrey Parker," he said, stunned.

"Yeah, yeah I am," she confirmed as she continued working on the tape on the other side of the chair.

She freed him and then bent one of his arms over her shoulders. "Thank you," he said.

"Lean on me. We're going to get you out of here," she answered. Together they ran from the burning room, just escaping the burning shelving that collapsed behind them.

* * *

><p>AN: _Sooooo...**do** you know that we have an Audrey/Duke community you could subscribe to, too? Team Waffles. You, reading this fic, write us some more Audrey/Duke fic too so we can add to the ranks. _

/community/Team_Waffles/95553/


	20. The Talented Ms Ripley

Duke and Dwight were further down the docks on another ship, similar in size to Duke's freighter. Together they stared down into a hatch that was moderately full of garbage and waste. Dwight, leaning up against the hatch cover commented "I can see why your dad thought that this was a good hiding place. Who the hell fishes around down here unless they have to?"

Duke, armed with a flashlight, continued to fish for the box. "Yeah, Pops was a real genius." He reached in again and found some ancient, decomposing chicken legs. "Uhhhh...So why the hell isn't it here?" For a moment he thought he would have to detach his arm to ever get it clean again.

"Are you sure this was his boat?" Dwight asked.

Duke really hoped Dwight would volunteer to finish looking for the box. He really didn't want to stick his arm in that again. He would likely need to burn his clothing. "Yeah, this is the last of the floating trash heaps he collected over the years. He sold it to Sal before he died."

Dwight was patently not offering to help. "If the box was so important, how come he never mentioned it to you?"

Duke grimaced. "I don't think he liked me much." Neither did most of the rest of the town for that matter. "I'm damn sure he didn't trust me."

Dwight stared off into the middle distance. "Or maybe he was just bad at telling you things like 'Son, you're troubled'." From his tone it was obvious that Dwight was no longer talking about Simon.

As the two men seemed to have endured parents with the same kind of parenting style - slightly more affectionate than a sea turtle - Duke hazarded a question. "If you don't mind me asking, uh, what exactly is your trouble?"

Dwight took a moment to consider, and Duke wondered if he would answer the question at all. He was surprised with Dwight sighed, then spoke. "I'm a bullet-magnet. If a gun goes off within 100 yards, the bullet veers off towards me."

Duke couldn't think of a more troublesome trouble on an individual basis. It definitely beat Nathan's no feeling thing. "And how does one come to find that out?" he asked, nearly choking on the words.

"In Afghanistan."

The smuggler whistled. "Well, that's one hell of a revelation." Duke wondered how often Dwight had been shot, and how badly he had been hurt in the war. Some things, though, even he wouldn't ask. The two men got up and closed the hatch cover.

"Screwy thing. My dad knew I was going to enlist, yet he never said a word. He was willing to let me walk into a battle zone rather than admit what he was. What we were." From the expression on the blond's face, he didn't understand why his father had done that to him.

"You know, uh, I think your dad and my dad would have been boozing buddies," Duke replied.

Sal came down below decks and yelled at the two men. "What? You two lose a bar bet?"

Duke tried to reassure the older man. "Ok, slow down, Sal. I'm sorry. Look, I was going to let you know we were here but we were just down here looking for something I thought my dad might have left behind."

"On my boat?" the old man asked in a querulous tone. "Duke."

"Relax. You're going to blow a gasket," Duke told Sal. "Before it was your boat. This was the last boat my father owned before he died."

Sal corrected the younger man. "The second to last boat that Simon owned."

The smuggler was confused. "Not according to his papers." He turned to Dwight for support, and then wondered why. It wasn't like Dwight was likely to have known his father's boats.

"I don't know about papers, but it was the reason that Simon gave me such a sweet deal on the lady here. He was buying a 120 and the owner wanted cash," the old man explained.

Oh, no, Duke thought. No. Not her. "A 120? Are you, are you sure?"

The typical Maine response. "Ayuh."

No, no, no, nonononononono. "Hey Sal, do you remember the name?"

"Cape Something." The old man ducked his head in though.

"Cape Rouge?" Duke asked, tentatively.

"Yeah, that's it," Sal confirmed, nodding.

"No, no, no, no, no. That's impossible. I won the Cape Rouge in a poker game on my twenty-first birthday, ok?" _I cannot believe this_, Duke thought. _No way did my dad ever own my boat._

"From who?" Dwight asked.

Duke looked around, feeling trapped. "From Ray Feegler up in Castle Rock!"

Sal interjected, "Feegler, yep. He's the guy Simon gave her to."

The enormity of the coincidence settled on Duke. "That means my father gave me my boat." Duke looked to Dwight. Dwight had no response except for a sympathetic look.

* * *

><p>After they brought Patrick in for booking, and after a medic checked Stu out, they gave Patrick's victim a ride home, which is how they found themselves sitting with Colleen and Stu in the living room of the Pierce home. Stu was explaining what had gone on the day of the two deaths. "Reggie and I were running. He wanted to back out of the meeting. I grabbed his arm around mile two and then...and then he started getting sick."<p>

"And that's what triggered your affliction." Audrey was much calmer, now that Stu had been found safely.

Stu met Audrey's eyes as he commented, "I was scared. I ran home. I found Barry borrowing my mower and he put his arm around me before I could warn him."

"We need to take you somewhere where you will be safe," Nathan told Stu.

Colleen objected, and Stu said, "I understand."

"No, you can't take him away," Colleen stated. "It's this town. It's the stress of the meeting that did this."

Stu confronted his wife. "I have to go. Patrick wasn't just planning on killing me. If they hadn't spooked him, they were going to parade my affliction around for the whole world to see."

Nathan tried to reassure the Pierces. "We have Patrick's prints all over that building. He's going to prison."

"But what if you hadn't stopped him? This town isn't safe for people like me anymore." Stu shook his head and examined his hands.

Colleen looked worried, but the expression soon turned resolute. "Fine. I'm going with you."

"What, just pack up your whole life? For what? Until the troubles are over, I won't even be able to touch you." The afflicted man had clearly given up hope.

Colleen smiled. "I don't care." She put her hand down near his leg on the brown sofa they shared. "For better or for worse, right?"

Audrey wondered what it would be like to be that in love, to have that much faith in your partner. More than ever she doubted Duke would be willing to sacrifice everything for her if the need arose. After all, he hadn't understood why she had to kill the Rev, and he would likely never would. The former FBI agent was envious as she saw Stu reach down and put his hand down beside his wife's. _I want to be in love like that_, she thought. _To be loved like that._

* * *

><p>Colleen's parents had a cabin way out in the woods that the two could stay at. Nathan and Audrey stayed to help them pack up and get out of town. As they all filled up the Pierce's SUV, Nathan told Stu that he was able to retrieve the list of meeting attendees.<p>

Nathan mused that Audrey had been right all along. She had proven that Patrick Grolsh had tried to kill Stu Pierce and had saved him, something Nathan's more cautious nature may not have been able to accomplish. Maybe Audrey's fervent desire to help the troubled was justified. Certainly, he couldn't deny her tactics had brought everyone home safely in the end.

"Thank God you found that invite list Patrick stole from me," Stu told Nathan as Audrey and Colleen continued to pack the SUV. "Can you imagine what people like him would do with something like that?"

Nathan stared at the paper for a moment before handing it to Stu. "I suppose you should have it."

Stu backed away. "No, you keep it. I can't help those people where I'm going. Maybe you can. The crazy thing is that I still feel bad I'm going to miss that meeting."

"It's just going to divide people," the detective said.

"People are already divided. There's no going back. All that's left now is for you to choose a side." Stu returned to the SUV and his wife.

Nathan watched Audrey, and noticed that she wouldn't meet his gaze. She'd been somewhat avoiding him since the warehouse. His thoughts were interrupted by the chirp of his cell phone. It was the PI. He confirmed Lucy Ripley's identity. Nathan quickly wrote the information down on the only paper he had available to him, which happened to be a corner of Stu's list.

As the couple drove off, Audrey stated, "It's going to be tough for them."

"Touching isn't everything," Nathan replied, tucking his cell back into his pocket. "Trust me."

"I hope they make it," she sighed.

Nathan turned to her, with a gentle smile on his face. "They will. Still thinking about what he said? About Haven not being safe for the troubled anymore?"

She ducked her head down, uncertain. "Maybe you're right. Maybe by shooting the Rev I just made things worse." For a moment Nathan hated himself for causing her to doubt.

"You did what you thought was right."

"I don't know what I think anymore," she sighed, tossing her head.

He forced her to meet his gaze with the weight of his stare. "Audrey."

"I'm serious!" she interrupted. "How am I supposed to know right from wrong when I don't even know who the hell I am anymore?"

"I know who you are," he replied, calmly. "I do. Because of you, I, I can...Never mind." He stopped, remembering all the lessons of his youth. A man does not admit to his emotions, no matter how powerful. Instead he pulled out the corner of Stu's list. "I found this for you."

"Whose address is this?" Audrey inquired.

In a soft voice, Nathan answered. "If I'm right, it's Lucy Ripley's." The expression on her face, the wonder, the gratitude, made it all worth it.

* * *

><p>"How did you get this?" Audrey asked, breathless with shock. Nathan had uncovered a secret that she had been trying to find out for months.<p>

Nathan was like a shy little boy when he answered, "I've been putting together everything we've learned about her in the past year ..." he trailed off under the force of her hug. He hugged her back. "Some photos from the Glendowers, people who remembered her. I, I hired a PI in Portland." Through his babbling she clung to him, grateful beyond words for his gift.

"Th-this is less than an hour away," she stuttered.

Nathan, slightly embarrassed at her thanks told her, "If you leave now you can be there before dark."

"Thank you." Audrey couldn't remember any time where anyone had given her so much. Perhaps she was wrong about pushing Nathan to Jess, she found herself thinking.

"I hope you get some answers. I hope you come back, and tell me what they are."

Audrey paused, "Of course. You know no matter what she says or what happens, I'm coming back. I promise." Audrey had too much invested in this town to just leave it. And maybe there was someone here who could love her the way Colleen Pierce loved Stu. Maybe, she had been wrong, and the ongoing fight with Duke was a godsend. Maybe she should have been trying to make a relationship with Nathan all this time. If nothing else, she and Nathan had become very close friends. "You're not just my partner, either."

"I'll be here," Nathan said. She knew he would be. Nathan was part of the bedrock on which this town was built.

"Yeah," she whispered, walking quickly to her sedan. Mid-way there she realized she wanted to reward Nathan with something special. Something he could remember, the way she'd always remember his gift to her. She turned back to him, and when she reached him, took his face in her hands and kissed him deeply. It would likely be the first sober kiss that he could have felt since the troubles began, so long ago now.

As she ended the kiss, she turned away, and bit her lip. It wasn't Nathan. No, kissing Nathan did not evoke the same passion that kissing Duke did. Kissing him didn't make her heart flutter, or make her want to immediately kiss him again, or to take things any further. She loved Nathan, probably now more than at any time in their relationship, but she wasn't in love with him.

She was still in love with a man that hadn't wanted to talk to her in a solid week.

* * *

><p>Audrey had broken more than a few traffic speed laws in her attempt to get up to Lucy Ripley's current residence. However, when she got out of the sedan, parked on the street in front of the well maintained shingle-sided house, she felt nervous. Audrey Parker from Boston had no knowledge of Audrey Parker of Haven Maine to offer. What if this Lucy Ripley never met...She didn't even know what to call other herself.<p>

Still, sitting in the car and fretting would get nothing accomplished. Hesitantly she walked around the edge of the property. As she cleared the back side of the house she found a woman in a floppy brimmed hat and a blue denim shirt fishing in the harbor.

"Excuse me." Audrey worried the small corner of paper Nathan had handed her. At the sound of her voice, the woman turned. "Are you Lucy Ripley?"

The woman lowered her fishing pole, shock evident on her face. "My God," she breathed. "You're really here."

"Did someone tell you that I was coming here?" Audrey asked, concerned by Lucy's reaction. She stepped closer.

Lucy shook her head, but broke out in a smile. "You did. Twenty-seven years ago."

For a moment Audrey forgot to breathe. The two women had met before, although Audrey had no memory of the event. And apparently she'd warned Lucy that she would come back again. Lucy took Audrey back over to the pair of worn blue chairs she had set up outside the back door to the house. Audrey fell into one of the seats, still in shock.

"You don't remember anything about that day?" Lucy was leaning forward, and had removed the hat from her head. It dangled limply from the arm of her chair.

"No." Audrey curled up in the chair and in on herself.

Lucy leaned back against the chair. "I'm sorry, honey. I guess that means they found you."

Some one had found her? Some one had been looking? "Who found me?"

"Don't know." Lucy shrugged. "Not sure you did either." The older woman's concern was plainly evident in her face. "But twenty-seven years ago you showed up on my doorstep. You were on the run, so scared I couldn't even get you to sit and take off the coat you were all bundled up in like you could hide in it, but you were asking me all kinds of crazy questions. You said you had my memories."

"I did? I, I said that?"

"Yeah, I couldn't believe it but..." Lucy trailed off.

Audrey looked down at her hands, the closed her eyes. "Ok, so if I'm not you and I'm not Audrey Parker..."

Sorrow colored Lucy's smoky voice as she said, "I don't know who you are."

"And I told you I was from Haven Maine?" Audrey leaned forward, perching on the edge of her chair. Angry with...herself, for not giving this woman more information. If Audrey ever figured out what was going on, she vowed to tell the other Audrey everything so that if this happened again, they'd at least be prepared.

Audrey was so focused on that thought she almost missed Lucy's next words. "Yes, you told me you were staying there for a while and that you were helping people with strange troubles."

The blonde nodded. "Yeah, that seems to be a pattern." Her older version, her older self? really hadn't given Lucy enough to be helpful. This was getting frustrating.

Lucy must have picked up on Audrey's irritation. "Someone died. You discovered a terrible secret, how all these troubles started and how you could finally stop them."

"So that's why these people want to find me." Audrey wished she knew what she had known as Lucy.

Lucy shook her head again. "No. They were trying to erase you."

Audrey's heart broke. "Well, they succeeded because I don't remember anything that you're talking about."

Lucy reached forward and rested an elbow on her knee. "You said that I could never tell anyone about you, that we'd even met otherwise they would come and erase me too. And you said that the only person that I could tell the story to was you if you came back. You said you'd need to know."

"Thank you." One mystery solved and yet so little was accomplished by the knowledge.

A warm, weather hand rested on top of Audrey's clasped ones. "No, thank you. All these years I've been waiting," Lucy told her. "And now I know I'm not crazy after all."

Audrey tilted her head. "You didn't really think..."

The older woman gave her a rueful smile. "After long enough I did. Over the years people encouraged me to move to various places, and I never did. You see, I was waiting here for you. I thought if I moved you'd never find me again."

"I'm sorry," Audrey sputtered, horrified and instantly feeling guilty.

"No no, don't. I don't think there was anywhere else I wanted to go, so don't apologize. It's just..." Lucy looked her in the eyes. "Have you ever experienced what it's like to have chosen a path and not been able to explain to anyone else why? After long enough that makes you doubt that your reasons are sound."

_Duke_, Audrey immediately thought with a heavy heart. How many times over the last several days had she wished that she'd been able to make him understand that moment out in the woods, she wondered. Too many.

The other woman's expression became sympathetic. "I can see that you know exactly what I mean."

"Yes."

"I hope it all works out for you, too, dear." Lucy rummaged through her pockets and came up with a pen and small notepad. "We should exchange contact information and keep in touch."

"Sounds good," Audrey agreed, taking them both from her and writing down both her phone number and e-mail. Lucy did likewise.

"Take care of yourself," Lucy admonished. "And work on that problem you can't talk about too, if you can."

"I'll do my best," Audrey promised, not sure which half she was agreeing to.

Lucy watched her for a moment before turning back to the water. A moment later there was a whine as she cast her fishing line.

By the time Audrey slipped behind the wheel of her car, she knew she'd meant both. The stupid feud between her and Duke needed to end. If there was one thing she had learned about men from Maine, it was that they were too damn prideful by far. Maybe she was guilty of that too. She wanted Duke to understand why she shot the Rev, but now just as Lucy suggested she was even questioning her own motives for doing it. The two of them needed to talk, to work things out. She just didn't know how to give him that message though.

As she put the car into gear, she sighed. She was grateful beyond words that Nathan had found her answers, but it was Duke her thoughts kept circling back to. Realizing that just strengthened her resolve to work things out with Duke, and to do what she could to stop worrying her partner so much because continuing on the path she currently was on would be a piss poor way to repay Nathan.

* * *

><p>That Night<p>

On the way up the stairs she noticed that the chalk board was still bare, and it made her feel a pinch of sorrow. It had always been her suspicion that the lively drawings were for her benefit, and seeing it wiped clean clinched it, so it was yet another reminder that they hadn't been able to bring themselves to talk out their differences yet.

Sleep didn't find her easily that night. Her brain was too full, with Lucy Ripley, Nathan, and Duke all crying for her attention like jealous children. The hours marched steadily past, and all she could do was toss and turn as snippets of things that weren't quite thoughts or plans assaulted her mind and kept her from resting.

Eventually she rolled onto her back, realizing how big and empty her bed was with only her in it. She needed to get Duke to talk to her. The question was how. She thought back over the day and as she remembered the forlorn chalk board, a sudden inspiration struck her. A small smile graced her face as she got out of her bed and headed for the balcony doors.

The cool night air bit at Audrey when she crept outside in her pajamas. Once she realized what she was doing, she made fun of herself. It was three in the morning, and the Gull was long closed and unlit. Duke was on his boat, so who was she afraid to be caught by?

Fortunately her plaid pajama bottoms came equipped with pockets, so she was able to put the box of chalk she'd once picked up at the grocery store into one after she pulled a single stick out of it. It was dark, so she wasn't sure how neat her writing was, but she thought that it would be legible.

Message complete, she walked back up the stairs and crawled into bed, wishing she wasn't alone. One problem worked on, she was rewarded by the waves of sleep finally crashing over her.

* * *

><p><em>an: Quick! Submit a review before something goes wrong with FFnet yet again. Three times in the past 9 days...sigh._


	21. Daytripping

Saturdays were Duke's least favorite shifts to take, but two people had called in sick so he found himself driving over to the Gull after a restless night. Yawning, he wondered if he would have been any worse off if he'd simply stayed awake and hadn't bothered to try to sleep. A wistful part of him hoped that Audrey was having trouble sleeping too, but he shoved the thought away, not wanting to sour his mood before facing the breakfast crowd.

The first thing he noticed when he pulled into the parking lot was that someone had written on his chalkboard. He forced down indignation over being vandalized once he realized that it was a message, not graffiti. Curious, he walked over to the board, wondering who had had the forethought to bring chalk with them of all things.

Duke read the message a couple of times before nodding and letting himself into the Gull. He came back out a minute later, chalk in hand, and added a message of his own. Heading inside, he felt better than he had in days, but anxious too.

* * *

><p>It was finally beginning to get cool out, but Nathan was still a little alarmed when it took a slight effort to get his truck to start later that morning. He did all he could to keep it in good working order, but it was quite old, and he hated the thought of ever replacing it like the chief had been after him to do the last two years of his life.<p>

As he'd gone around and peeled off the orange and red leaves that had plastered themselves to the truck's body, he noticed that he could see Audrey's jacket neatly folded on the rear seat. The Gull was on the way to where he was already going, so he decided to swing by and drop it off for her before heading south.

The Gull's parking lot was more than half full, and Nathan decided that people inexplicably were drawn to the scent of waffles that assaulted him as soon as he got out of the truck. Walking up towards Audrey's staircase, he was a little surprised to notice how little writing was on the board by Duke's door. Lately he'd been very thorough about noting the day's specials, but there wasn't enough writing for that. Curious, he stepped towards it for a closer look.

The board was marked up in two different handwritings, both of them familiar to him.

On top it said "I'm sorry."  
>The bottom read "Me too. Let's talk."<p>

Sighing, Nathan got back into his truck and dropped Audrey's jacket back where he'd found it; he knew she had more than one, so he'd hang on to it until Monday. Whipping out his phone, he pressed speed dial. "Hey, Jess. It's Nathan. I was thinking about driving down to Kittery soon. Do you have plans? Would you like to join me, then? Great, I'll be right over."

* * *

><p>Kittery, Maine<p>

Fluffy lambswool clouds dotted the sky. It had been the kind of day that proved that Mark Twain was right. If you didn't like the weather, wait ten minutes and it will change. It had rained and cleared out three or four times already, but it looked like it was settling down to be a nice day.

Nathan and Jess had been down the strip where all the outlet malls were in Kittery, southern Maine's outlet shopping paradise. Almost anything you wanted could be found there, provided it came as a second. Jess had needed to re-outfit her home. When she had left Haven she had given away most of the housewares and minor appliances, and had planned to ship some of the furniture to Canada, but had never done so. As a result, she had been living in a relatively nicely furnished, yet curiously functionless home. It had been a minor miracle, mostly because Nathan had ensured her house had a regular patrol by it, that the copper pipes hadn't been stolen.

They'd hit up Crate and Barrel first, where Jess had eyed the dishes and plates with some asperity. Nothing in the store seemed to be up to her demanding standards. She had gone through it as a small whirlwind, staring at all of the items before dismissing or adding them to her cart.

Nathan's attention was caught when she quietly laughed as she found some out of season Christmas decorations sitting on a shelf, nearly above her head. He looked at her, curiously, and she just pointed and the blown glass reindeer ornament that had caught her fancy. It took him a moment to identify the source of her amusement, and when he did, he blushed, grateful for the stores darkened interior.

"I would say some buck was very, very lucky, Nathan." Laugher made her slight accent all the sweeter.

Nathan considered the rather large and ill-placed hole in the deer's hindquarters that must have been used to blow the interior of the clear ornament. For a moment he got lost in the thought that no other woman of his current acquaintance would have risked such a risqué observation. It was sort of refreshing. "Either that or she has a severe case of the runs."

Jess giggled, and darted around the tall shelving units, finding oddly shaped vases in the next aisle, Nathan following. She quickly made her way through a forest of furniture, most of which looked like it had come with Dr. Who from sometime in the 1970s. The rest was very darkly paneled wood. Her quick circuit of the store completed, she went to the register and purchased a few items, and then ran them out to the Bronco.

Their next stop was the Pepperidge Farm store. Nathan was amused to find out that you could buy any kind of goldfish cracker you wanted, there. He eventually decided to get a large gallon sized container of plain goldfish. He knew a certain pirate that desperately needed some in his life. Preferably scattered around anywhere that said pirate liked to keep neat. Duke had unusually strong feelings about goldfish crackers, feeling that Cheeze-its were the infinitely superior cracker.

While he had been selecting the appropriate method to annoy Duke, Jess had made her way to the back corner of the store. She had proceeded to laden down her shopping basket with enough Milano cookies to wallpaper her kitchen. He had been faintly stunned at the number of sandwich cookies she had managed to amass in her basket.

"Going to an office party?" he asked, innocently.

The dark-haired woman glared at him. "Milano cookies are proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."

"I thought that was beer."

"Only if you are a man, Nathan. Nothing's better than a good wine and cookie binge."

Nathan considered that for a moment. "According to Audrey, all things are better with cupcakes."

"That is only because she hasn't been properly introduced to Milanos."

Nathan declined to point out that Audrey had once told him that Biscotti and Milano cookies were nothing more that deliberately stale cookies. It would probably go better for everyone involved if Jess didn't know that piece of information about her friend.

Once they left the house of goldfish and cookies they continued down the strip. As they approached the local Burger King, Jess wondered "Do you think the hamburgers have been discounted, too?"

"I was wondering if you had to buy them in bulk. Maybe you have to get a dozen burgers," Nathan replied.

"I would be more worried that if the burgers are discounted, they're a half hour from expiring." Jess settled back into the Bronco's passenger seat until Nathan parked.

Feeling daring, they entered Burger King, and were slightly disappointed to learn that the prices there were pretty much the same as they were any other place along route one.

After a dubious lunch, they walked across a small bridge and found their way to another strip mall, one that hosted a kitchen store. Here Jess finally found the dishware she had long sought. She picked out a simple pattern with a single iris off-set on the center of the plate, made by Corning. She was also able to pick up a mixer, some glass baking sheets, and some basic kitchen utensils such as pots and pans. She'd even found what Nathan thought may have been the worlds smallest frying pan. It was deliberately designed to fry a single egg.

Rather than try to cross back over the bridge carrying Jess's bounty, he went back and drove his truck over. With Jess's final purchases, Nathan's truck was stuffed with kitchenware, glassware, a small TV (bought over the border in a NH Best Buy earlier in the day), a few other knick-knacks, and a couple of shelving units. Most of the heavy work had been done. Since Kittery was so far away from Haven, though, rather than go home, they decided to spend the rest of the day in the small town.

They descended into the next outlet mall that had obviously seen better days. A few of the stores were closed, but Jess decided to go into the Reed and Barton store. Nathan's overwhelming impression of the store was that most things were silver or pewter, and were designed to celebrate bringing a kid into the world. He never knew there were that many silver spoons that could be bought. Never mind banks, music boxes, and picture frames that could be monogrammed.

While Jess wandered around, Nathan went to the back of the store which was the clearance closet. It was a small room filled with toys. One toy in particular struck his fancy. It was a small stuffed raccoon. There was a sticker on it that said squeeze me. Curious, he did. Instead of some cute saying, or raccoon chittering noise, the sound that issued forth from the raccoon was a rather loud roar. It repeated three times, and then was silenced. Thinking that the voice box was perhaps malfunctioning, he picked up another one and pressed it. It too roared three times. Jess had drifted over, wondering what Nathan had found to cause that noise.

"I do not think that the person who designed this has ever heard a raccoon," she said.

Nathan nodded. "Either that or they have raccoons confused with Tyrannosaurus Rex. I know it can be very difficult to tell them apart in Maine."

"Yes, I often confuse huge reptiles with small mammals," Jess commented solemnly.

"Said smugly like someone who passed biology," Nathan retorted playfully.

Her eyebrows rose. "You didn't?"

"Oh, I did. But there was this kid, Nick, in my 10th grade biology class who was utterly convinced that snakes don't have bones..."

* * *

><p>The pair reached one end of the strip, where there was an enormous candy store called Yummi's. For a lark, he pulled in to the small parking lot. They both got out of the car and wandered into the store, looking at the large red sign that proudly proclaimed CANDY. They entered the store and were amazed by all the processed sugar in front of them.<p>

The front of the store held a small section for tourists. It was filled with lobsters, fishing images, and shirts. Jess held one up for Nathan, a slightly maniacal grin on her face. "Got Lobsterpups?" she asked, echoing the shirt's sentiment.

Nathan looked at the shirt, noticing that while Jess pronounced the "R", it wasn't actually written. The shirt had a picture of a hotdog looking roll with a lobster in it. The front was actually written "Got LobstahPups?" Neither of the two most recent residents of Haven had picked up the pattern that the final "R" of most words was almost always dropped.

"No," he replied succinctly. He tried to maintain a firm, dispassionate look, but judging from the French-Canadian woman's giggling, he failed, miserably.

Jess wandered through the crowded aisles, with Nathan following her. The store wasn't really laid out in any particular order. There would be several kinds of nuts next to taffy. But if you went looking for Boston Baked Bean candy, which were peanuts covered in something red, they weren't found with the nuts, they were at an end cap near something that looked like a gummy worm farm.

She picked up a package of wax bottles with brightly colored liquid inside and another package of candy cigarettes. "I haven't seen these in years. My grandmother used to buy them for me when I stayed with her."

"I think that this may have every candy known to men." Nathan picked up a Sky Bar and a package of Necco wafers. Together they poked through the rest of the store, finding candy lobsters, licorice babies, and all sorts of other candies that had long since disappeared from common grocers' stores.

* * *

><p>The two paid for their purchases, and then drove down the opposite side of the road to hit up the malls they hadn't visited yet while going north. The next mall on the southbound side hosted a large number of clothing stores, including Old Navy. Jess wanted to go in, so Nathan reluctantly agreed. He'd never been in an Old Navy store, and could have happily lived the rest of his life without going in one, but for Jess he would.<p>

Together they wandered around the store, Jess picking up some soft outlandishly patterned sleepwear as they roamed. He thought it was ridiculous that several patterns of sleep pants were made of polar fleece but patterned to look like plaid flannel.

When they reached the Men's section Jess started eying him with a critical stare. "You know, you always wear practically the same thing. It's always jeans and a long sleeve shirt. We should try to find you something different."

"Jess, no, that really isn't..." Nathan started. He was too late though. In the course of about five minutes Jess had found an outfit for him.

"I think you would look good in these khaki pants. And you should try layering your shirts. Look, if you take this blue one, and layer it with this gray one…" She said, holding out the two shirts.

"And I'd get Duke's formal wear. No thanks." Nathan made a slashing "no" gesture with his hand.

Jess considered. "I hadn't realized it, but yes, you would. I still think it would be a good look on you."

"It may be a good look on me but I'm not keen on looking like a reprobate," he answered.

Jess let the matter drop, but Nathan could see she was still mulling over something. Before she could suggest he wear something like the classless red flannel plaid print she seemed to be looking at, he told her, "Sorry, I just stocked up. I don't need any more clothes."

"Did you buy shorts?"

Nathan looked at her, perplexed. "What?"

"Did you buy shorts when you stocked up? It's getting on into fall," she commented.

Nathan paused, confused by the non-sequitur. "No, why would I buy shorts when it's getting cold out?"

Jess tossed him an amused glance. "Well, I've noticed it's very common here. For instance, look over there." She motioned to two teenage girls.

Nathan looked and realized what Jess was getting at. The two girls were sporting Ugg boots, and thick parkas to fend of the chill. Through the unzipped fronts he could see them each wearing a fairly thick sweater. However, their defense against hypothermia had one large, glaring hole. They were wearing Daisy Duke shorts.

"Yeah, I have no idea. I would claim it's a girl thing but I've seen a fair number of guys that wear shorts out in the snow. And if they aren't wearing shorts, they wear jeans and a t-shirt. I've never understood it. You'd have to ask Duke. I've seen him wear sweaters and shorts together. Maybe he can explain it." Nathan shrugged. It was the New England way of life. He suspected it had to do with holding on to summer as long as impractically feasible.

The next stop on the Kittery tour brought them to the Lindt chocolate outlet, where both of them bought more chocolate than was wise. Nathan's closet chocoholic tendencies came to the fore the minute they walked in the store. Sadly, there were no discounted seconds for sale that day. When he commented on it, it was Jess' turn to look puzzled. He clarified, "They sometimes don't make the truffles correctly and they will sell them in a big bag. The outer chocolate may not be perfect to look at, but they are still perfect to eat."

Around the corner from the Lindt factory, Jess found an unexpectedly useful store. "Nathan, I should pick up a few things, come with me?"

Nathan shook his head and uncharacteristically declined. "No. I am not going in there."

Jess looked at him, pleadingly.

"No. I'll wait for you outside." He was firm and resolute.

Jess snorted. She opened the door in the L'Eggs Playtex Bali Hanes store that Nathan mentally christened the Bra Emporium and wandered into the back. There was just no way he was going to surround himself with that many female undergarments. Especially when the 60-something clerk at the counter had given him a come hither stare when they walked by. She might have had some lingerie clerk ninjas attack him and bind him with breast bands. It was entirely too dangerous. Jess would just have to deal with some things on her own. Friendship could only be expected to take so much.

Eventually Jess emerged from the bowels of hell aka the bra store, and they continued down the strip. They stopped at Ben and Jerry's, and ate Pfish pfood ice cream for desert. The hit up a few more stores in the malls before they pulled into the first, or last, store on the strip mall depending on your point of view.

* * *

><p>Jess was hesitant as she got out of the truck when they pulled into the parking lot of the Kittery Trading Post. The large store's wooden facing and giant arrow gave some evidence of its hunting and fishing wares. The bigger clue was the hundreds of colorful kayaks that were caged up in a storage area just outside of the main store.<p>

"You don't have to go in, you know," Nathan said, noticing Jess's reticence and instantly guessing the source of it. "I just need to grab a couple of shirts."

Jess shook her head. "No, it's a stupid thing to be nervous about. I know it won't happen again. Although I still think it's in poor taste."

The detective took her hand and they entered the store. Jess' eyes flicked to the taxidermy moose and lynx mounted around the store. They stayed reassuringly still. They made their way to the Men's Clothing section, where Nathan picked up a few shirts that would stand up to the Maine winters.

"I thought you said you didn't need any more clothes," Jess commented, keeping a wary eye on a stuffed coyote.

Nathan shrugged. "I don't really. But my other shirt like this is nearly worn through so while we where here I figured I'd pick up a couple of new ones. Here, you can see the material's a lot thicker than that stuff at Old Navy." He handed her the shirt. Jess nodded, not really looking at it but conceding the discussion.

While Nathan perused the shirts, Jess slipped away and disappeared into the depths of the store. She had told him she'd meet him at the counter. He was a little worried about her getting lost. The store had three levels, and people had been known to get lot in the place for hours. The running joke was that it started specializing in camping, fishing, and hunting gear after the first few people got lost in it.

He needn't have feared. Jess was just to the left of the cashier's benches. She had something in a bag. She was standing just in front of the wide glass doors. She was beautiful, he thought suddenly. He was staring at her, so focused that the clerk had to ask how he was going to pay twice. Nathan handed over his credit card, and completed the purchase. He joined Jess at the doors.

They walked out and were back at the Bronco when Jess pulled Nathan aside. "I wanted to thank you for helping me out, and lugging all of this stuff around. I thought you might like this." She thrust the bag out at Nathan.

He took it and found a couple of small paper bags inside. They were pancake mixes, one blueberry and one pumpkin. "Thanks," the quiet man said.

"No, thank you," she said. Then she leaned into kiss him on the cheek. Before he could react, she opened the Bronco's door and climbed into the battered cab.

He stood still for a moment before walking to the driver's side door and climbing in. He started the car and pulled it back out of lot before navigating back up to the main highway. Jess was leaning up against the window, quietly humming to the song on the radio. He could still feel the tingle caused by the quick brush of her lips on his cheek.

Jess's kiss had been softer than Audrey's, when she had kissed him the same way so long ago. It was like the difference in the two women's personalities. Audrey was more forceful and direct. Jess was more tactful and subtle. If Audrey was the sun, Jess was the moon. Audrey's tactics had been refreshing, when they first met, but Nathan had the distinct impression that sometimes she leapt before she looked at what was around her. Jess would set about getting a contractor to build a bridge over the gap that Audrey jumped over.

Audrey had been resistant to any advances he'd put forward. Jess had welcomed his kiss, or at least welcomed it until he'd grabbed her at the Gull. She'd even returned the kiss, somewhat enthusiastically. If Nathan was honest with himself, he'd enjoyed it. What really surprised him was that he enjoyed it more than he had his recent kiss with Audrey. With her there had been a physical reaction, but not a psychological one. With Jess, he'd been reminded of their old relationship, about how Jess wanted to help him get beyond his inability to feel, to become whole. Where Audrey had kept him at a distance, Jess had not only pulled him close, she'd invited him in.

Both women were undeniably important to him. However as he thought about it, Jess was the one he wanted. He needed Audrey to keep him sane, to help the troubled, and to keep Duke out of trouble - with the exception of the scrimshaw misunderstanding Duke hadn't been suspected of doing anything illegal while he'd been with Audrey, so at least he should be grateful for that. However, Jess was the one he wanted more. She was the one that had invested the time to help him overcome himself. She was the one that had given him the courage to try to love someone else, and maybe even himself.

* * *

><p>That Evening<p>

When the knock sounded on her door, Audrey became nervous. So he wanted to talk. That didn't disallow for the possibility that he was going to yell at her and swear to never have anything more to do with her. Did it?

Opening the door she gave him a small and tentative smile. "Thanks for suggesting that we talk."

"You're welcome," Duke said stepping in. He sat down at her table and folded his hands on it before looking up at her. "I take it that you think we've punished each other enough too?"

The pinched feeling in her chest let go, and she felt like she could breathe again. "Yes."

"Good."

For a moment they just stared at each other, and it slowly dawned on her that he'd been just as nervous as she was. "I'm sorry, Duke. I'm sorry that killing the Rev kept you from knowing everything you should have learned."

"Me too," he surprised her by saying, which only made her worry flare again. "But I've done a lot of thinking, and I realize that you did what you felt you had to. It all happened so fast you probably didn't even have time to think about the consequences, right?"

"I wish that were the whole truth, but I do think I quickly weighed odds before I pulled the trigger," Audrey admitted.

"The odds of what?" he asked, voice carefully neutral.

She shrugged. "The odds of whether or not the Rev would really kill off the troubled beginning with that girl, versus the odds of you hating me forever if I stopped him before he hurt anyone. Because Duke, I saw the look in his eyes. That girl was going to be the beginning. He wasn't going to stop killing the troubled..." she trailed off. "All of them. I could stand you hating me more than I could stomach the idea that a day was going to come when Nathan's throat was going to be the one under his blade, and I can't lose him. I'm not in love with him, obviously, but I _do_ love him. So if you hated me but he lived, it would be hard but better than the alternative."

Duke looked up at her, eyes wide with shock. "Hate...? Audrey, come on. I could never hate you."

"No?"

"No. Was I pissed off? Yes. But hate you? You have to know me better than that," he gently chided her.

Audrey finally looked at him. "I was banking on the hope that I did," she said softly, "when I fired. But Duke, at that last second, it didn't matter if I thought you'd hate me or not. I was willing to lose you to keep people safe. To keep Nathan alive."

"I know."

"You don't sound mad about that."

"I'm not," he said, spreading his hands. "I want to be with the sort of girl who risks everything to do the right thing."

"Even if it includes risking losing you?"

"Even if." He smiled at her. "But when you say that you love Nathan, you're sure you mean in a platonic, fraternal sense, right?"

"Yes, Duke. The only person in Haven I'm in love with is you."

At first he looked pleased but then gave her a strangely concerned look. "What about outside of Haven?"

"Funny," she complained.

"I'm told that my sense of humor is one of my better qualities," he replied solemnly.

Laughing, she came around the table and kissed him. There were the sparks she'd been missing.

* * *

><p>That night, a werewolf movie, a dinner, and an hour in bed later, Duke spooned up against Audrey's back and felt truly content for the first time in days. Clearing the air between them gave him the same vast sense of relief that having his mother wake him up from a nightmare did when he was a little boy. A calm settled in once the monsters faded back into clothes hung over a chair, once he realized that not only did he forgive Audrey, she forgave him too.<p>

It was moments like that, with Audrey sleeping peacefully against him, that made him believe that things were really going to be okay. His experience growing up had taught him that adults in a relationship vacillated between indifference and anger, so he mentally packed his bags every time a woman in his life had gotten mad at him. And they had all let him go, leaving him feeling justified for fleeing at the first sign of conflict. It had gotten even worse after he'd really tried to stay for Evi and in the end she'd let him go too.

But Audrey hadn't. They'd fought, made up, and it was now all right. He wasn't sure how to deal with a relationship that could endure upsets like that, but he wanted to learn more than anything. Leaning down he kissed the back of Audrey's neck and thought, _I'll learn_ _how_ _for you, for us both._

* * *

><p>an: _Writers both in grips of winter-induced apathy. Must have lots of inspiring feedback to carry on...seriously, we've been stuck on the same spot for weeks, and in a few more we'll run out of stuff to post...I think we've given you a fair amount to comment upon this chapter, so break out those pom-poms =) _


	22. What Comes To Light

The Next Morning

Duke couldn't resist coming up behind Audrey and wrapping his arms around her when she stood by the window. It felt right when she made no effort to resist, and instead pressed back against him. He leaned slightly to kiss her cheek. "What are your plans for your day off?"

She frowned a little and glanced around the apartment. "This place needs a thorough cleaning."

"It's not spring," Duke pointed out. "Near about winter, actually."

"I know. But I want things spic and span before we have any power failures. Nothing worse than cold, dark, and dingy to make you want to hurt yourself."

"Now you finally sound like a native," Duke told her, his eyes filled with good humor. "And you're right, now's the time to get things squared away. I'm going to be painting the railings today before it gets too cold to paint outside. Then I need to go to my boat for a while..." he trailed off, suddenly feeling like he should have offered to spend the day with her instead.

From the amused smirk on her face, he was easy to read. "I'm not going to change my mind if we leave each other's sight, Duke." He didn't need to ask her what she'd change her mind about. "We'll meet up for dinner, okay?"

"Okay," he agreed, pleased when she arched up to kiss him. "It's a date."

* * *

><p>The paint can on a shelf of the storage room was stymieing Duke by remaining just out of reach when the phone in the dinning room rang, startling him. He gave the can a rueful look and decided that he'd better admit defeat and find the step stool he kept for his shorter employees before he ended up wearing paint. Audrey had agreed to continue to see each other, but he didn't think her recommitment to their relationship extended to helping him remove paint from his hair. He could definitely think of better things to occupy their time in the shower.<p>

Another shrill ring seemed to protest being ignored, so he trotted out to grab it.

"The Grey Gull."

"Duke Crocker," a woman's smoky voice replied. "It's Katie McCready."

"Katie." He held the phone a bit away from himself, as if afraid that she might reach through the phone and grab him. Katherine McCready might sound like the name of a good Catholic girl, but her parents had already despaired half her life that she was no longer either. "To what do I owe the honor of your call?"

"I have something to show you," Katie told him. "I think you'll find it very interesting."

"Something valuable?" Duke asked, already beginning to imagine the sort of things Katie might believe that he'd find interesting. That it'd be something to separate him from a significant amount of cash went without saying.

"It has a certain intrinsic worth," she demurred. "I can't really describe it over the phone. It'll have to be in person."

"Are you in town?" he demanded to know. He didn't trust any of the people he did business with as far as he could throw them, and past dealings with Katie made him trust her less than most. She wasn't someone he wanted hanging around Haven.

"Not yet. I will be in a few days, though," Katie replied. "I know you're doing your best to look like a respectable businessman, so I'll make it easy on you and drop by before your darling little eatery opens one morning."

"Not too early," Duke cautioned her. "If you let yourself in during the wee hours, you're likely to be confronted by my girlfriend and a gun." He hoped that his mention of Audrey sounded casual, not as calculated as it was to keep her from hitting on him like she usually did when she got the chance.

"Your girlfriend could be lurking inside the restaurant with a gun?" She sounded amused rather than disappointed. That probably meant she was involved with someone herself, and he couldn't help but pity a man he'd never met. Duke had done a lot of stupid things over the course of his life, but at least entangling himself with her wasn't one of them.

"She lives in the apartment upstairs," he explained. "And I'm not kidding about her being armed." Duke almost told her that Audrey was a cop, but at the last second something made him decide not to.

"Oh, no doubt. Any woman who hooks up with you is wise to be armed. I'll knock first, I promise."

"Right. Goodbye, Katie," he said impatiently.

"See you soon, Duke."

He hung up, shaking his head. Then he got the step stool so he could reach the paint.

* * *

><p>In the end Nathan waited days before confronting Duke about what he saw, not deciding to really do it until he knew that Audrey had taken leave of her senses again and forgiven him. He didn't like what he'd promised to Jess, and the more he sat and stewed on the fact he knew Duke was cheating, the more angry it made him. It took him a long time to figure out why, too.<p>

At first it was obvious: The bastard was using Audrey for sexual gratification, and would leave her, break her heart without considering what his actions meant to the woman he claimed to love. When he saw that Duke and Audrey had once again made up, it was nearly too much to bear. This was not going to end well for Audrey.

After stewing over it for days, he realized he was angry at Duke for a completely different reason. He was pissed because Duke seemed to be bound and determined to screw up his own life. Audrey was probably the best thing the smuggler had going for him...and he was going to toss it away. Duke had never been completely right in the head since his father had died, and despite the approval of Nathan's mother, the Chief had made it quite clear he didn't want his son fraternizing with the thieving miscreant, even when he was still a little miscreant. That never seemed to stop the two young boys before the last outbreak of the troubles. Before Nathan's numbness had first come on, Duke had been a cheerful, mischievous child. After the troubles came and his father was declared dead, Duke could be downright cruel. It was easy to understand his father's prohibitions, and why he'd taken it upon himself to try and be a good, if occasional, role model to the boy once they got a little older.

It was easy to understand, too, the pain in his former friend's eyes. Duke and his father may not have gotten along, but Duke did care about his old man. Duke ran away from home after his mother remarried. That woman had bad taste in men. When he was still a teenager she moved out of Haven and left her son behind. Duke was fine with it, judging from the bruising that Nathan noticed appearing on the other boy's body shortly before he left home. Duke had lived on the outskirts of Haven until he could leave himself. Nathan had always wondered if there was some way that Duke could have become Oliver Twist rather than the Artful Dodger.

Duke was suicidal.

That was the only reason that Nathan had for why Duke would take up with another woman when he had Audrey. Especially taking up with a woman whose alter ego had already nearly killed him once before. Duke had finally snapped. It had taken days for Nathan to realize that Duke may have had some real problems that he was hiding under that charismatic exterior. Talking to Duke in that frame of mind at least would stop him from doing grievous bodily harm to the pirate before he could asking what the hell was going on.

The detective was reminding himself of these facts and beliefs while he sat in the parking lot of the Grey Gull, trying to prevent himself from killing the owner. Certainly it would be justifiable homicide. Or something. Eventually he uncurled his fingers from around the steering wheel and exited his vehicle. It was roughly 1 p.m. It was late enough most of the Gull would be empty after the lunch rush, and that suited Nathan just fine. The fewer people around to hear the conversation, the better.

Nathan walked into the restaurant, looking around for the proprietor. He walked through the place and wandered through until he made it out to the back deck. There he found the object of his consternation, painting some of the railing that had become weathered. Duke scarcely looked up and never stopped the smooth, even strokes of the brush. "She's not here, Nathan. She tore out of here half an hour ago to go for more cleaning supplies."

"I wasn't looking for Audrey, Duke," the big detective replied.

Duke angled his long body around to get to the back of the railing piece he was painting. "And I haven't seen Jess today."

Nathan watched for a few moments. "I wasn't looking for Jess, either. I was looking for you."

That was enough to get Duke to stop painting. He looked at Nathan warily, and then began to wipe his brush on the edge of the paint can nearby. He methodically wrapped up the brush in a plastic bag and then resealed the container with a few knocks from the end of the paint brush. After he was done he answered. "Whatever was done, Nathan, I didn't do it."

Nathan leaned down and picked up the can. "I think you did, Duke. I don't want to talk about it out here. Let's go to your office."

Duke stood up to his full height, and attempted to stare down Nathan. Nathan met his glance evenly, knowing Duke was thinking that he was about to be hauled into jail over something. Unfortunately cheating on your girlfriend wasn't illegal in Maine.

Eventually Duke capitulated and led him inside. They made their way up the stairs in the back of the kitchen to the private offices Duke maintained on site. Duke opened the little refrigerator he kept in the office and took out two bottles of water, then put the bagged wrapped brush in the tiny freezer compartment. He offered one of the bottles to Nathan.

Nathan took it and nodded his thanks. The two men had a moment of truce while they both drank from the bottles. "I'm not here to arrest you, but I am here to ask about your intentions towards Audrey."

Duke almost choked to death on his water and saved Nathan the indignity of having the conversation. "What?"

Nathan sat on the old stuffed recliner in the office, across from the battered desk that duke kept between himself and the officer. "What are your intentions towards Audrey." It wasn't a question so much as a demand.

"I didn't realize you were her father and I needed to ask your permission to date her. You know, Nathan, you are a little late with that." Duke hid his expressions behind another drink of water.

Nathan leaned forward and the old chair groaned. "I'm not her father, her brother, or her keeper. I am, however, her partner. Her happiness is important to me. You two have been dating for less than six months and have already almost broken up twice. Each time she gets more upset." He shook his head. "She's beginning to worry me, frankly, and you putting her through the wringer is doing nothing for her fragile state."

Duke snorted dismissively, obviously not taking Nathan's opinion seriously. "Fragile? She's fine."

"She is _not_ fine. And I'm just looking out for her."

"You are her keeper, you mean," Duke retorted, tossing his own words back at him.

"Regardless of what I am, you haven't answered the question." Nathan's eyes continued to stare levelly at Duke. He'd learned long ago that you couldn't give into the pirate's snarky comments or misdirections, and the man was a master manipulator. The only way to win with Duke was to wear him down or confuse the hell out of him. Nathan didn't have the patience to drag this out longer than it needed to be, or try to think circles around a man that seemed to live in a spiral thought form. He wanted the truth from Duke.

"What was the question again?" Duke grinned.

Nathan smacked his hand against his forehead and slowly dragged it down his face. "What are your intentions toward Audrey."

Duke considered for a moment. "Ah yes. How about, none of your damn business."

"Not good enough." Nathan sighed. "Try again."

"I'd really rather not," Duke replied.

"Too bad. I don't really care what you want. What are your intentions toward Audrey?" Nathan wondered which one of them was going to go crazy first. He had a sneaking suspicion, though, that Duke had beat him to crazy some time ago.

Duke shook his head, laughing. It was the laugh of imminent harm. "Nathan, I'm not kidding. Stay out of our relationship. Stay out of our life together. You had your chance, and you lost it. I'm not giving up mine."

The bastard was serious. He must have wanted to have his cake and eat it too. "Seems to me like you already have."

Nathan wanted to step back. He didn't, but only because he knew Duke was wrong. Well, that and the chair he was sitting in. If there had been a gun in arms reach, Nathan was pretty sure it would be pointed at him. Wouldn't be the first time Duke had done that recently. If words would kill, Nathan would have been dead before his body hit the floor. Duke dropped the friendly act. "What do you mean, Nathan?" he hissed.

"I saw you outside Beattie's house." Nathan crossed his arms.

Duke looked incredulous. "What? So?"

Nathan stared at Duke. "I. Saw. You. At. Beattie's."

"So what? She's the harbormaster!" Duke looked ready to launch himself at Nathan.

Nathan sighed. "You don't usually hug the harbormaster."

Duke blinked. "No, no you don't. But sometimes you hug the mother of your child."

This time it was Nathan that was taken aback. "What?"

The smuggler shook his head. "I was at Beattie's, yes. I hugged Beattie, yes. Both of which I admit to. I have not been unfaithful to Audrey with Beattie. I may be many things, and that's including in love with Audrey."

Nathan was perplexed. Duke actually settled down and was grinning his real grin. Not the one that promised a knife in the back, but the one that promised friendship. "And how's Audrey going to take knowing that you hugged Beattie."

"I imagine that depends. I didn't think she'd care, really. But if anything, she'd be happy for both of us." Duke was obviously enjoying Nathan's complete and total confusion.

Nathan leaned so far back in the chair he nearly tipped it over. "You think Audrey would like to know you have an ongoing relationship with a woman that tried to kill you?"

Duke smirked. "Yes."

Damn it, I hate it when he makes me do this, Nathan thought as he bit. "Care to tell me why?"

Duke chuckled softly as he dug his wallet out from his back pocket. He snorted softly.

"You know Nathan, I never understood before. Now I do." He flipped expertly to one of the plastic dividers. His fingers paused as they caressed the image, and he carefully drew it out of the sleeve and handed it over to Nathan.

The picture was new, still glossy. It depicted a baby girl, if the dress was to be a reliable indicator of sex, nestled in the arms of a giant teddy bear. The girl had chocolate brown eyes. Eyes that he saw mirrored in the face across the desk, who was grinning in fondness.

"That's my Jean. Abby went out to Nebraska and brought back a couple of pictures. Beattie gave one to me." Duke smiled, and Nathan was surprised by the peace in it.

He studied the picture for a few minutes more before handing back the photo. It was reverently replaced in the wallet by the girl's father. "I thought that Beattie didn't want to know what happened to Jean?" Nathan asked.

"She had just given birth and just told that her children were killing their fathers. It doesn't make for good decision making. Abby found the foster home, and took Jean out to Nebraska. Thing is to adopt a child, both parents have to give up their rights. I didn't want to. My condition was that the adoption be an open one. I don't want my baby girl thinking that I didn't love her enough to keep her. Audrey wanted her to have a picture of the first day she was in the world. And well, I wanted her to know that no matter what, she had a father that cared about her."

Nathan had long ago developed a meter by which he judged the truthfulness of Duke's statements. Duke wasn't lying. "But she could kill you," Nathan pointed out.

Duke openly grinned. "I'm not moving out there with her. Beattie and I discussed it. We want her to know that we both care about her, but for medical reasons, it's not safe for us to be with her. Hell, I'll tell the girl I have leprosy or something. And if we're unlucky enough to have the troubles leave but come back again, we have to explain what might happen to her."

Nathan just shook his head, thinking that hell had surely just froze solid. Duke Crocker wanted to be a long distance dad. That was the weirdest thing to happen in Haven yet. Duke had hated children when they were teenagers. The Detective thought that perhaps having someone else change the diapers might have improved Duke's outlook on being a father.

Duke leaned across the old desk, still grinning. "And Nathan, I have nothing to fear when it comes to my daughter. After all, you promised me you'd be the one to kill me and I expect you to keep your promise."

* * *

><p>Late that afternoon Dwight crouched on the Cape Rouge's deck, watching as Duke climbed down the hatch into the belly of the boat; Nathan' impromptu visit slash accusation that he was cheating meant that Duke had to keep Dwight waiting, and the other man hadn't taken it well.<p>

Sounding less annoyed than when Duke let him aboard, he asked, "So basically your Dad buys the Cape Rouge and arranges for a guy to lose it to you in a Poker game on your 21st birthday?"

Duke privately mused that he really needed an air freshener down there. Perhaps several. A hundred. "Phew. Yeah, it's got to be the smartest plan he ever came up with. Definitely the one that required the longest planning ahead. Pop wasn't big on thinking about the future." His voice echoed slightly in the narrow space as he dug through the netting that hadn't been used in all the years that he'd owned the boat.

"Maybe he's finally trying to do something nice for you," Dwight remarked.

Duke looked up at the large blond head filling up the only exit out of the hatch. "More likely there's a catch. A big one."

Down below the area where the netting was stored Duke noticed a loose panel. He grabbed the crowbar and tried to loosen it further. The clattering sound of metal on metal was deafening in the small space, but after a couple of hard shoves, the crowbar was firmly shoved into the breach and he could fit his arm in the small hole. "I got something."

It took a lot of oil, more jamming with the crowbar, several curses, and one near fall off the ladder before Duke managed to get the panel loose. Once it was off, Duke found that his prize was an old rusting drum of some sort. It was much, much too big and awkward to carry up the hatch ladder safely. He and Dwight got some rope and rigged it to a pulley, then Duke went down once more to secure the end of the rope to the barrel. After Duke scrambled up the ladder he stayed near the hatch to prevent the rope from swinging the drum into the hatchway walls while Dwight pulled it up.

As the drum emerged from the hatch Duke called back "That's good, good." He moved the drum over to the deck and directed Dwight, "give me some slack, a little more." The drum hit the deck with a solid thud. "Ok. Good, good."

"All this time the bastard had a stash right under my nose." Duke tried to pry open the drum, but couldn't.

Dwight handed him a crowbar. The top lifted up, then clanged. Duke dropped the crowbar on an old box sitting on another hatch. He dropped the lid down and saw the large silver box inside the drum. The two men grinned at one another. Reverently he pulled it out and placed it on the box beside the crowbar. Duke spun the box around to get to the key hole, then dug in his front shirt pocket to find the silver key. The box unlocked with a soft click and Duke eased the top off.

The cache of weapons inside surprised him. "What the hell is all this?" Simon was many things, a booze-hound. A worshiper at the alter of Tobacco, but he'd not been a particularly violent man. Fist fights in bars, yes. Armed assault, not so much. Duke pulled out a thin dagger and unsheathed it, confirming for himself that this was not mere costume weaponry. It was real, and it was sharp.

Dwight looked at him askance. "I've seen something like this on TV. You don't happen to have an over-protective big brother, do you? One with a kickass classic car?"

Duke almost asked him what he meant before realizing that Dwight was referring to one of Audrey's favorite shows. "Don't even start."

"What?" Dwight asked blandly.

In response Duke just narrowed his eyes.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile<p>

Audrey had never really been a fan of Disney's version of Snow White, but she found herself whistling as she went about her chores, not really minding that they had taken her all morning and deep into the afternoon as well. For the first time in a week, she was sure that things were okay. Her only regret about the conversation with Duke the night before was that it hadn't happened days sooner. She made a mental note to never let anything like that happen between them again, and attacked the table with Pledge. The sense of relief she felt was fantastic, but it was nothing she wanted to seek out further opportunities to have.

No sooner had she put her now filthy rag down did her phone began to ring. She smiled, assuming it was Duke about to make dinner plans, but it faded away when she saw that the display said Lucy Ripley instead. "Hello?" she asked tentatively.

"Audrey?"

"Yes..."

"I've spent the last day and a half wrestling with whether or not I should have told you something. I finally decided that I should stop being an old fool and just tell you what I should have Friday."

"What?" Butterflies suddenly flocked to Audrey's stomach.

On the other end of the line, Lucy took a deep breath. "A few months after you left a man came here, said that there were people after you and that he could help. There was something about him I...I didn't tell him anything."

"And he was from Haven? Do you remember his name?" Maybe this mystery man could help her find out what had happened.

"Simon. Simon something." Lucy paused to think. "Simon Crocker."

Audrey flinched. Duke's father had come for her and wanted to help her? Did Duke know anything about what had happened? Had he been hiding information from her this entire time? No, no Duke wouldn't do that to her. He'd helped her find people in that picture. Audrey was pretty sure that if Duke had known anything about what had gone on between Lucy and his father, he would have told her.

Suddenly Audrey's blood ran cold. What if Duke had been 'erased', too? He had claimed that he didn't remember the day of the Kid's death. Whatever had caused people to lose their memories in Haven didn't seem to always cause a permanent loss, at least not of all memories given that the other Audrey Parker had remembered her fiancé, Brad. What if Duke's memories of Lucy had been mostly erased, leaving him only with the memory of the locket she had given him?

"Audrey?" Lucy asked, sounding worried.

"I'm here."

"I just thought you should know that. I kept thinking about how you said that you'd been erased after all, and my mind kept circling back to that man's visit. Maybe if you find him, he can tell you more."

"Thank you," Audrey told her, not bothering to tell her that she'd just suggested looking for answers from a dead man.

"Bye."

"Bye."

Grabbing her keys, Audrey raced out the door. If she and Duke were going to stop keeping things to themselves where they could fester, this was a good place to start putting things out in the open immediately. Duke might not know more about what Lucy Ripley had just told her, but he could definitely tell her more about his father.

* * *

><p>When Audrey boarded the Cape Rouge the sun was still brightly shining in the defiant sort of way it got an hour or so before dark on late autumn days. She wasn't fooled, though, she knew that it was a final stand, and the sun wouldn't be able to hold out much longer.<p>

She came upon the scene of Duke examining a large silver box with a knife in his hands and Dwight staring down at the contents. "Duke..."

Both men looked up at her. "Audrey," Duke acknowledged.

"We need to talk." Please let her not have come down here to find Duke was committing some sort of crime with Dwight. That wouldn't go over well with anyone.

The two men looked at each other. Duke couldn't seem to choose between the two blonds. Eventually he walked to Audrey, visibly shaken at what he was seeing and with a bared knife in his hands. He sighed. "You are not going to believe what my father had hidden below decks."

"Your father's exactly why I'm here." She met his eyes, unnerved slightly simply because the unflappable Duke Crocker had obviously been flapped and with all the information she'd found out herself over the past couple of days... "Lucy Ripley. I found her the day before yesterday."

Duke immediately pulled himself together. "Wh-what did she say?"

"When I spoke to her Friday not much, which is why I hadn't told you yet. But she called me today...and said that she meet your father. That he visited her after Lucy left Haven all those years ago." She tried desperately to hide the edge to her voice.

Duke couldn't have looked more stunned if a steamroller jumped out of the sea and rolled him over. "Why? How did he know her?"

Audrey turned away slightly. "I don't think that he did. I think he was looking for me."

Duke was about to respond when he turned suddenly, alerted by the slight noise of Dwight's feet as he picked up the box and headed out for the railing. "Wow. Buddy. My feelings are actually hurt." Duke gestured with the knife between the two. "What happened to honor amongst thieves?"

Dwight stopped, easily supporting the box in his hands. "I said I might change my mind."

* * *

><p>Duke closed the space between them, incidentally ensuring that Audrey was well behind him if this came to a fight, even though he knew she'd be annoyed if she deduced his motive. He had a really strong feeling that the answers to both of their mysteries could be found in that box, therefore the sailor couldn't allow the cleaner to take the box. Its potential was too important to both him and Audrey.<p>

"Yeah, yeah you did." He deliberately turned away from Dwight toward Audrey, knowing that some time Dwight would take a shot at him. He felt the knife, suddenly heavy in his hand. "He did," Duke said to Audrey.

Surely enough, when he turned back around Dwight smacked him in the face with the silver box. That he had not quite been expecting. He stumbled against the closed hatch. He came up and grabbed Dwight's flannel shirt, then cut across his arm, intending to cause Dwight only enough pain to flinch and let go of one handle of the box. He hadn't intended to draw blood, but with his head still ringing from the impact moments ago, he misjudged the distance. He felt the warm wetness of Dwight's blood on his hand, and then it felt like the world was ending.

* * *

><p>Blood flew up out of the wound and Dwight cried out. Audrey realized something was horribly wrong when Duke, who'd never shown evidence of backing down in a fight, staggered away from Dwight, shaking. He wasn't trying to catch Dwight, but rather seeming to retreat from the man.<p>

"Duke!" Audrey cried, horrified. "What's-"

His knees hit the deck, and it looked like it wouldn't be long until the rest of him followed. "Au...Audrey." The word was barely comprehensible through Duke's gritted teeth.

Audrey knelt beside the stricken man and gently laid a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright?" She acknowledged to herself that it obviously was a dumb question. Duke was far from all right. He started to crawl away, from her, Dwight, or the situation, she wasn't really sure. She put her other hand out to restrain him. "Duke..." Audrey looked down and saw the blood staining his hand had disappeared into his skin. "What's going on?"

Duke finally stilled, kneeling on the deck, one knee pressed up against his chest. "I..dddn't know."

Audrey caught Dwight walking closer to them out of the corner of her eyes. In front of her she saw Duke's eyes flash from their normal deep brown into a silver blue. Dwight had paused, then resumed his walk towards the pair. Duke must have been aware at some level of the man's approach because suddenly he got up and spun.

"No," Audrey cried out.

Duke grabbed the arm that Dwight was in the process of swinging down, and held the bigger man at bay for a second. Her dark-haired boyfriend shoved Dwight with all of his strength. Neither Audrey nor Duke was prepared for Dwight to go sailing over the edge of the Cape Rouge and into the harbor.

Audrey ran to the railing. "Where is he?"

Duke limped up beside her, supporting his weight on his arms by gripping the railing. "Don't worry. He's a freaking Army Ranger. He's fine." Duke turned to Audrey, a sick look on his face. "Did you see what I just did?" he asked, sounding scared.

Audrey struggled to remain calm. One of the two of them had to. "You need to show me what's in that box."

Maybe it was the knife, maybe it was the box itself that had caused Duke to react like he had. Or, perhaps Duke had always been troubled, but never realized it. The two of them turned to the offending box.

* * *

><p>an: _Thank you! You've helped yank us out of our rut - we've both written new post-season 2 finale scenes this week, filling in some holes in our march towards trying to make sense of the last scenes of "Sins of the Fathers" and what __**ought**__ to come next (our version of ought, of course). And since we'll see each other tomorrow, I'm sure we'll get a bunch of brain storming done then =)_

_Oh yeah, when it comes to the Audrey/Duke fic community, I probably should have mentioned the easiest way to find it is to click on my name and look under the community tab on my profile. It's a list of one community, so... _


	23. No More Lies

_Since snow has shut down the entire state university system, even the far-flung office where I work, I think today is a good day to post a chapter. Too bad it's unpaid time off..._

* * *

><p>Elsewhere in Haven<p>

The grass was dead and crunchy underfoot. _The one good thing that could be said about the early onset of winter in New England was that you don't have to mow the lawns_, Nathan thought. Jess's grass was ample evidence of that, having long since turned brown and stiff. He found himself at her house after a long shift at the station. He hadn't warned her he was coming, and he had intended to just drive by. Somehow the Bronco had other ideas and had parked itself in her driveway. It was now refusing to move.

He was trying to convince himself that he really did need to leave before one of his own was called to arrest him when Jess opened up the front door and leaned out. "Are you going to sit there all night or are you going to come in?" she yelled.

Nathan scrubbed a hand through his hair and then walked up the path to the garage, and into the house through the garage door. Jess met him in the mudroom with a coffee cup. The man smiled his thanks and they both cut through to her kitchen. He was spending a lot of time there lately, it seemed.

Per their usual procedure, both Nathan and Jess finished drinking their coffee before starting a conversation. He could tell that Jess was laughing at him from the sparkle in her eyes, and briefly wondered if Duke had told her about their misunderstanding. He was somewhat shocked when she finally started the conversation with a question.

"Nathan," she said, her voice soft, "why is it you never use the front door?"

He chuckled. It was not a question he was expecting. "We just don't use the front door." He shrugged. "Well, no, that's not true. Front doors are used for weddings and funerals."

"So you won't use the front door until I get married?" Jess's blunt question had Nathan blushing.

"I would prefer that to you dying," he commented gravely.

Jess laughed. "I think I would prefer that too, Nathan. It's strange to think, Canada is not so far from here, and yet, our people are different."

Nathan shook his head. "No, meet enough Canadians in the harbor to know no matter what kind of fisherman they are, the biggest ones always get away. Everyone hates it when there's more snow than there is places to put it. Endangered sea birds are only loved by members of the local Audubon Society."

Jess leaned down on the table. "I will grant you the first two, but the third?"

"You ever have to tell people to clear a beach because the plovers are nesting? I have, and it's not fun. The next day I got hate mail and death threats. Of course, most of those were directed at the plovers, not me." Nathan sat back in his chair.

"I've never hated a plover," the French-Canadian woman declared resolutely.

Nathan inclined his head. "That's because Montreal is inland enough they don't habitually make themselves a nuisance. In any case, I've still got 2 out of 3." The seasoned cop went silent as he studied the thin film of liquid left in his coffee cup. Plovers were a minor annoyance in the great scheme of things. There was a much bigger annoyance.

"I didn't know the plovers were such a hard subject for you, Nathan. I won't mention them again." Jess was at a loss for what could have made the big man go still and silent.

He looked up and met her eyes, studying her for a few moments. "You were right. I didn't see what I thought I saw." Jess was caught off guard by the non-sequitur. He could see her trying to figure out what he meant, so he clarified. "Duke wasn't cheating on Audrey. He was seeing Beattie and Abby about his daughter. He wanted an open adoption."

Her eyes went wide and Nathan laughed. "Yeah, I was surprised too."

"How does Audrey feel about it?" she asked.

Nathan shook his head. "I don't know, and I don't know if she even knows yet that Duke can still contact Jean. I think she'll be happy, though."

"I think so too. Being an orphan, I imagine it would mean a lot to her that he didn't cut off all ties to the child. I have heard her wonder what happened to her own parents, if she had any." Jess got up from the table and walked around the edge. She placed one hand on his, and one on his shoulder. "Perhaps Duke is finally learning what it means to be a real man, and not just an overgrown boy. I think you give him a good example to follow."

The detective blinked in surprise. "Somehow I doubt Duke looks up to me for anything."

"I think you'd be surprised. He respects you. I was in the Gull the other night, and he was telling me some of the troubles that have happened in town since I left. He told me of his friend, and of you sacrificing your 'cure' to help a girl. He seemed in awe of your selflessness. He said he couldn't have imagined making that choice." Jess leaned down and kissed Nathan gently on the cheek. "I'm sure Audrey appreciates it."

"Why would Audrey appreciate Duke looking up to me?"

Jess stood up. "Because she loves the rogue, but hates that he lacks …" Jess struggled for the word. "The ability to always make the right decision? You teach him how to be a better man by example."

Nathan snorted. "I'm not entirely sure Haven or I are ready for a reformed Duke Crocker, doing the right thing because it's the right thing."

Mirth colored Jess voice. "I didn't say it was something he was quick about learning. I think you have some time yet to brace for impact."

Nathan looked up at the dark haired woman. He remembered the kiss in Kittery, and he remembered that he loved her. The whole conversation had been about Duke, and he wasn't pissed off or jealous of the other man. Maybe Duke wasn't the only one that had been doing some growing up recently. As he stared at Jess, he realized that the afternoon in Kittery had put paid to his relationship with Audrey. Yes, he would kill Duke if he hurt the blonde, but he wasn't infatuated with her anymore.

As he thought about it, Nathan realized that he wanted both of them to be happy. Somewhere along the way that day, likely at the point when Duke had looked peacefully at his daughter's picture, Nathan even had given his unspoken blessing to the pair. It was not a relationship he would want, the emotional upheavals were too much for him. That didn't mean he didn't wish the best for both Audrey, and, surprisingly, Duke. Fundamentally, he just wanted Audrey to be happy.

He didn't have the same type of intensity, of both joy and frustration if he was honest with himself, with Jess that he had felt for Audrey, but he felt that their relationship was on the same level. Jess was his equal and was strong where he was not. She helped him clear his head. Not for the first time, he thought about how much he loved her.

Nathan got up from the table, and asked permission with his eyes. Jess granted it. The kiss may not have been the first in their relationship, but it certainly was one of the best.

That was until Laverne paged him because O'Donnel's sheep had escaped and were in the middle of Cowbell Corner again, disrupting traffic. As he left to deal with his off hours ovine emergency, he hoped it would be just one kiss of many.

* * *

><p>Later<p>

Nathan listened to the quiet chimes above the Haven Herald's door. He walked in and saw Vince and Dwight having some whispered conversation.

Vince turned to Nathan, shock on his face. "Nathan, what are you doing here?"

Dwight looked disdainfully at the quasi-chief. "Probably here to shut us down."

Nathan regarded the two. Audrey was right, the troubled were worth fighting for and he needed to choose a side. He had chosen the Troubled. Most of them were regular people that didn't do anything to deserve their affliction. He certainly couldn't recall what gods he'd angered to be numb for almost a quarter of his life. Audrey had always been right, and he saw no reason to doubt her word now. He would support those that needed defending. "I'm not going to shut you down, Dwight."

Vince offered the voice of reason. "The town finds out you're at this kind of meeting, that's risky, Nathan."

Nathan smiled, remembering the kiss Audrey had gifted him with earlier in week. Even if it hadn't led to the fireworks he'd once wanted, the risk was well worth it given the revelation it had helped led him to. "Well, I can't worry about what the town thinks anymore. I got to do what I think is right. Sometimes risks pay off." Nathan met the two men's eyes and then walked into the office behind the gate.

The meeting went on late into the night. The troubled for now were agreeing not to act unless acted upon by someone that was not troubled. However, the next time that someone attacked a troubled individual, the gloves would come off. Nathan did try to caution them against killing for revenge, but he was shouted down. Dwight pointed out that if the troubled made someone a big enough example, it would likely deter anymore such attacks. An unquiet peace would be maintained until someone struck the first blow.

* * *

><p>It had taken Duke a while to recover trying to regain some kind of equilibrium after that...event. He didn't know what happened, but it didn't seem to have been permanent. He had tried testing out his new super-strength on a pry bar but it remained stubbornly straight. That meant he couldn't be troubled, right? Look at Nathan, he was always afflicted during the troubles. Then he remembered Helena.<p>

Maybe it was only because he was upset with Dwight? He really had thought the two of them were growing into friends. He should have known better. Maybe Nathan was always upset with something so his trouble never went away? Maybe Duke would need to practice his meditation. A lot. "Whatever the hell it was, it didn't last very long." He decided he refused to think of himself as Troubled. That was Nathan's specialty.

At least they'd seen Dwight pop up out of the water a ways from the Cape Rouge and swim to shore, so they no longer had to worry that he might have committed manslaughter. _Yet_, Duke couldn't help but thinking, wondering if he could actually hurt someone now.

Over the next couple of hours Audrey had cataloged the contents of the box, taking out each weapon and studying it briefly. Most of them were very old, and all of them were very well cared for. She had been trying to read the journal but the puzzled expression on her face told Duke that she didn't have much of a clue what it was or what it meant, either. "It happened right after you cut Dwight."

"Is there anything in that box that might tell us why?" he asked, a sharp edge to his voice. Duke knew he shouldn't be snapping at Audrey but he couldn't stop himself. He had always transmuted fear into anger.

Audrey flipped through the pages. "Well maybe this ledger? There's some names, there's some dates hundreds of years old." Duke reached down and took the book from her hands. "Maybe is, um, a Crocker family history."

Duke flipped through the book. Something nagged at him. There was some echo of the past here he couldn't quiet hear, like a faint strand of music the moment after you shut off a radio. He stopped as he reached the last few pages of the book that had been written.

Audrey noticed that Duke had stilled. "Did you find something?"

The handwriting was achingly familiar, but he didn't know why. "It's just these last few pages...I feel like I recognize the writing." He gave a derisive snort, then flipped a page. "It's probably because it's just as bad as mine." He paused for a moment and then sat down on the bench beside Audrey. "My father wrote this."

Audrey leaned close, her chin practically resting on his shoulder. "'Duke, if you are reading this, then I haven't survived.' Wait, I thought, I thought that your dad died in a boating accident."

Duke wished he had Nathan's poker face. "Yeah, that's what everyone insisted...but since I found his name on the Rev's list of victims of the troubled, I've begun to think not."

"'You are my son. You are my heir. It is up to you to finish my work. You must kill her.'" Audrey's finger pointed to the underscored text in the book.

Duke flipped the page to see pictures of Dave Teague and a woman that wore Audrey's face, and then a picture of Lucy Ripley, also wearing Audrey's face.

"This must be why your father was looking for Lucy Ripley. He was trying to find me." Audrey looked up into his dark eyes.

Duke suddenly understood the free-fall feeling Audrey must have been living with ever since she found out that she was Lucy Ripley. "How, how did he even know you?"

"More importantly, why did he want you to kill me?" she asked.

Duke stared down at Audrey. She couldn't believe that he would ever harm her, could she?

* * *

><p>They both looked at the book, wide eyed for a moment longer before Duke snapped it shut and dropped it on the table. When Audrey looked up at him, he gave a nervous laugh. "I hate to admit it, but ever since you told me that you grew up without a mom or dad, I've felt a little bad for you even though I didn't grow up in the Cosby family myself. But hey, at least your father isn't making insane demands on you from beyond the grave."<p>

He thought that she tried to smile, but it was clear that her heart wasn't in it. Sighing, he pulled her onto his lap. "I need you to know that I have no intention of going on some sort of mission for my dad. I didn't like him when he was alive, and I'm certainly not going to kill anyone for him now that he's dead. Especially not you."

"That's good, I can check that off my list," Audrey quipped, but there was more of a bite in her tone than she probably intended there to be.

Duke pulled away a little with a grimace. "I don't want to joke about this."

"We'll figure it out. Right?" she asked, patting his leg.

"Right."

Audrey suddenly looked like she was keyed up enough to jump out of her skin even though she hadn't had any coffee in a while, so he gave her a questioning look. "I think I know where to start," she said, answering the question he hadn't yet put words to.

"Where?" For a moment he felt a stab of annoyance when he realized that his thoughts had automatically turned to the recently late Rev. The Rev's men probably knew some of the answers, but they had turned their backs on him after their leader's death because as angry as Duke was immediately afterwards, he hadn't denounced Audrey and Nathan like he was supposed to.

"Not too long ago Nathan told me that the phrase conspiracy of silence had this town in mind," Audrey told him. "And he's right. The older people here, they've deliberately been keeping me in the dark the entire time I've been here. And you," she added, giving his shoulder a gentle shove. "And Nathan too. They probably rationalize their tight-lipped silence as being for our own good, but we're not children."

"They don't treat us all like children," Duke objected. "Julia is a little younger but knew some things, and Dwight does too and he's not that much older than Nathan and me."

"Do you have any way of getting in touch with Julia?" Audrey asked, her tone nearly rhetorical.

"No. There's no phone and no e-mail in the village she went off to." Julia had returned to the Doctors Without Borders program so abruptly that they'd barely had time to arrange to have drinks before her flight out. Nathan hadn't cared much for her, so it had just been the three of them and a hasty goodbye.

"And Dwight is more than willing to keep his mouth shut too, so no one has worried about telling them anything," she concluded.

"Just us, then."

"Just us. But tomorrow, tomorrow I'm going to get some damn answers."

He was tempted to ask her how, but decided not to. The last thing he wanted was to reason her out of a mission that might be successful. So he kissed her on the forehead instead. "Yes, I'm sure you will. But right now you're going to try the best seafood gumbo you ever had."

"The only seafood gumbo I've ever had," she corrected him.

Duke pretended to look shocked. "God, what a live of deprivity you've led."

"Sure you don't mean depravity?"

"You? Not yet. You haven't been with me long enough for that charge to stick," he told her with an appreciate leer.

"Ha." Audrey smirked back at him, but he could see the amusement in her eyes.

* * *

><p>Although he'd joked with her and served her a fine meal, by the time they got ready for bed Audrey was sure that not all was well with Duke. He tried to hide his anxiety, but she could see it in his eyes whenever he dropped his guard, and from the way he held his body so tensely.<p>

After they turned the lights off she let him climb into bed first, and then snuggled against him, capturing one of his larger hands between both of her own. "I believe you, you know," she said, speaking into the darkness.

Duke didn't ask what she believed him about. Instead, he just asked, "Why?"

"Because I love you."

A pregnant pause stretched out between them before he replied. "Is that reason enough for your faith in me?"

It was a legitimate question, she thought. A lot of foolish trust went into people's relationships every day, and some of those relationships crashed spectacularly on the rocks, a few of those wrecks even resulted fatalities. But not them. Despite some ups and downs their trust in each other had been earned over and over, not blindly given.

She dropped one of her hands, and wound the fingers of the other in his. "Remember asking me once if I had a plan, and I told you that I didn't need one because I had you?"

"Yes." Duke draped one of his legs over hers.

"I wasn't joking. You and me, together we can make it through anything," Audrey insisted. "We're in this together."

He sighed. "It sounds less overwhelming when you put it that way."

"That's how it's supposed to work," she replied.

He snorted. "Of all people, how do you and I know how things are supposed to work? It's not like you had any role models for good relationships growing up, and mine were even worse than non-existent."

"We'll figure that out too."

"Yeah," he said, pulling her closer. "I really think we will."

He drifted off in her arms just before she did, leading her to hope that he'd taken what she'd said to heart. His father's poor idea of an inheritance placed a large burden on him, but she hoped that he now realized that it wasn't his to carry alone.

* * *

><p>The Next Morning<p>

There was something soothing about the way Duke's boat gently rocked back and forth that allowed her to find a more peaceful sleep than she anticipated, and she suspected it was why he didn't stir when she climbed out of his bed and got dressed. As she pulled her clothes on, she couldn't help but think of the first time she'd woken up in that bed. These days he was in far more danger of having her insist on having her way with him than pull a gun on him.

No one was around as she made her way through Haven on foot. In a way she was glad to make a clean get away, because the last thing she wanted that morning was Duke or Nathan trying to calm her down. Calm hadn't gotten her anywhere, and she knew instinctively that it would continue to fail her too. So, she let her emotions have full reign as she stomped over to the office of the Haven Herald.

Vince didn't seem bothered at first when she stormed in, and merely remarked that she was a welcomed sight. Ignoring him, she went to their bulletin board and studied it a moment before yanking a picture off of it and thrusting it at Dave. "That you?" Dave blathered about the fish in the photo a moment before she slapped a photo she'd taken out of Simon's journal on top of it. "That's you too, right?"

"I don't recall exactly," Dave started to demure before she slapped his coffee mug out of his hand. It hit the wall and shattered, its thick white ceramic shards littering the carpet.

"No more lies!" Audrey shouted.

This got both brothers' attention, and they looked up at her in horror. Neither had expected the outburst.

"All this time I've been searching for my identity, and you knew who I was?" she snapped, eyes narrowed at them both. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Vince responded to the anguish in her voice by looking at Dave. "I'm sorry. She knows. What's the point now?"

"Why are you lying to me?"

"We were waiting until you were-"

"What, ready?" she demanded, desperate to know. "I'm ready now. So talk. Who am I?"

Dave looked at a loss for words, but Vince said, "You were Lucy. Before that, Sarah. Before that we're not sure. There's a lot we don't understand, like where you go in between the troubles."

"How you always look just about the same," Dave added. "That you have a new person's memories each time you return."

"The only thing that's the same is that you always help the troubled when you do," Vince added.

She looked blank for a moment, and then asked, "Who was agent Howard?" The both shrugged. "Great. That's great," she complained, backing against the wall.

Vince opened a desk draw and pulled out a cloth wrapped bundle, and showed Dave, who nodded.

"Go ahead," Dave told him.

"It was Sarah's," Vince explained after he unwrapped a tarnished wedding ring. "The woman in the photo."

"Why do you have it?" Audrey asked.

"She was a friend. It belongs to you now."

"A friend?" she asked sharply, and Dave looked away.

"For a while," Vince answered quietly.

She looked up at him, not liking his tone. "And then?"

"And then she was gone."

"Like Lucy," she stated. "They both failed," she added, twisting the ring in her fingers. "I wouldn't be here if they hadn't."

Neither of the Teagues corrected her. She waited for them to say something to indicate that they thought she was different, that they felt that something about her would allow her to succeed when the other women hadn't, but they didn't.

"It all got to be too much for Sarah," Vince told her. "The stress, the strain..." He glanced at his brother. "It changed her."

"And then what?" Audrey asked, looking at Dave as she spoke. Whatever had happened to Sarah had horrified him; she could read it on his face. Whatever the "change" had been, she knew that it had been for the worse. The thought made her uncomfortable, especially when she thought about Nathan's recent complaints about her own behavior.

Before either of them could answer, her phone chirped. "Dammit," she whispered, already having concluded that taking the call would be the conversational out both men desperately craved. It was a text from Nathan, telling her that they'd gotten another case.

"This conversation is not over," Audrey warned them before taking back the photo from Simon's journal back and rushing out.

* * *

><p>When Duke opened his eyes a short time later, he was annoyed to discover that he was alone in bed, but also grudgingly impressed that Audrey had managed to get off the boat without waking him. He looked around hopefully, willing her to have left him a note, but there wasn't one. <em>Off to demand those answers<em>, he thought, _and heaven help whoever doesn't give them to her_.

He sighed deeply as he got into the shower - after a PG-13 night he'd been hoping not to bathe alone that morning. The water was colder than normal, so as he got out and toweled himself off, he wondered if a cold shower for two wouldn't have gotten him what he wanted anyway. Making a mental note to make sure that he and Dwight hadn't knocked anything lose in the workings of the boiler while down in the hold the day before, he wandered out of the bathroom still toweling off and reached for his whistle.

"I like what you've done with my place," a voice said, stilling his hand in mid-air. "It looks more like a home than the trash heap I was expecting."

Shocked, Duke looked up and saw a man that he hadn't since childhood. "Dad?" he whispered. "You're dead."

Simon Crocker merely smirked at him, arms crossed over his chest.

* * *

><p>Her confrontation with the Teagues had taken her longer than she anticipated, so Audrey was hardly surprised to notice that Nathan was pacing when she pulled up at the address he'd texted her.<p>

"We start at nine a.m. in the Haven PD," Nathan told her.

"Funny, I don't remind you that when you manage to get me out of bed and on the road way before that so many mornings," she muttered. "Sorry, I had something to do this morning, and it couldn't wait."

"Where were you?" Nathan asked abruptly. "With Duke?"

"When I left Duke's he was still asleep," Audrey told him evenly, mildly surprised that he'd yet to lecture her about the stupidity of forgiving the other man. Clearly he realized that they'd gotten back together despite his silence on the subject. "Who's the vic?"

Nathan led her to where coroners were loading the victim for transport back to the morgue. "Sheila McMartin. A neighbor woke her up with three shots to the chest. He admits to the shooting and is in some sort of shock. He keeps repeating 'Arlo made me do it.'"

"So...?"

"That's where it gets interesting. Arlo was Sheila's husband."

"So an angry ex?"

"Try dead husband."

"That's a lame stab at an insanity defense, so what's the interesting part?"

Nathan looked pleased, which threw her. "Neighbors. They heard the shots and saw Arlo leaving the house."

"Okay, if he faked his death, there's got to be some sort of digital trail."

"E-mail, phone calls, bank accounts," Nathan said with a shrug. "They all leave a record."

"I guess that's where we start, then," Audrey concluded.

Nathan looked like he wanted to say something, but he didn't. Instead he gestured towards where their vehicles were parked.

* * *

><p>an: _aren't you glad I recently renumbered chapters so it **didn't** break with Audrey and Duke looking at Simon's written demand like it did before?_


	24. What Happened Long Ago

_The next two chapters are two of my favorites, since as I said earlier, I enjoy fixing canon, and I like trying to make sense of indiscrepancies too of which there were several timeline-wise introduced this season. I'll be sad if you don't like these chapters too..._

* * *

><p>"Uh, excuse me," Duke said, looking down at himself. "Got to get dressed."<p>

_And all this time Nathan was worried that Audrey might be cracking up,_ he thought, _and I'm the one hallucinating my dead father. It probably stands to reason, though, I've been thinking about him for two days solid. I need a vacation. As soon as Audrey reappears, I'm going to suggest we take off for a few days, away from Haven. This place is getting to us both._

Feeling a little better, Duke threw on some clothes and walked back out, hoping that he was now alone. Simon was in the same spot, glaring at him. "Damn. I really hoped that I'd walk back in here to see that you'd disappeared. It always was your strong suit." He pulled out a glass and a bottle of wine that he and Audrey hadn't finished with their meal the night before.

"You're taking this well," Simon remarked.

"Yes, I am. You see, I'm pretty sure that you're the result of some bad seafood we ate last night. Hopefully I'm the only one seeing things. I should check on that-" The thought that Audrey might be ill too made him feel a little bad about his cooking skills, but he was slightly cheered by the thought that she might puke on Nathan.

"You're not imagining this," Simon told him. "No more than Scrooge was when the ghosts visited him."

"Oh, right. A Christmas Carol. One of the thousands of stories you never got around to reading me," Duke said, pointing the bottle at his father's ghost. "Reading to me would have required you to give a damn about something to do with me."

"This real, Duke." Simon sighed, and past a hand through the glass Duke had set out.

"Says the dead guy I last saw twenty-seven years ago." He thumped the bottle down on the island. "But sure, let's go with it. Let's say that you're real. How are you? How have you been? Why are you back?" Duke glared at him and finally drank a mouthful of his wine.

The ghost looked a little confused. "I don't know."

"Let me take a guess. You're going to disappear for a few days, and I won't have any idea why. Then you'll show back up, bloody and beaten up, and expect me to nurse you back to health," Duke rasped. "Again."

"Look, I know I was a crap father, and a worse husband-"

"Check and check. You know, I've got to tell you are much smarter as imaginary. The real you didn't seem to give a crap that everyone in town knew that they better let your son - from first grade on, no less - bring home beer and smokes to you if they cared at all about the kid's continued well-being. I like this humbler imaginary you. It's refreshing."

Unfazed by the scathing pronouncement about his character, Simon turned his head away and noticed the box open near by. "You found my weapons." He pointed at the box. "The troubles must be back."

"Yes, they are. You know, this must be a dream. That's got to be it." Duke went to the porthole to look out. "Are there mermaids out there? Many of my more interesting dreams have them."

"You cure anyone yet?" Simon asked loudly.

Duke turned back to him. "Uh, no, not that I know of. You know, this has been fun, but I'm going to go back to bed, and hope that when I wake up Audrey's here instead of you."

"Hey!" Simon protested. "You are awake. You know that's real, right?" He pointed at the weapons.

"Right."

"I know I wasn't around but there was a reason. Okay? I was out, saving people."

"Oh really? And how were you out 'saving' people?"

"When someone from our family kills a cursed person, we don't just kill their body, we kill their curse too. That's _our_ trouble."

"Oh. So you saved them from being alive? Got it," Duke said dismissively.

"The curse dies in the whole family," Simon explained. "No one will ever get it again. Not the children, not the grandchildren. No one. The curse never comes back."

"You just have to murder someone to do it. Wow." Duke looked disgusted. "You really are a piece of work."

"Now I know why I'm here," Simon said confidently. "To make you understand."

Duke stared at him for a minute before turning abruptly and grabbing at the journal that was back in his father's box. He flipped to the note his father left, and noticed that one of the pictures was missing, but figured that Audrey had borrowed it in her quest for answers. He brought the book over to Simon and stabbed the page with a finger. "Explain this. Why would you leave me a note to tell me to kill her?"

Simon gave him a calculating look. "She's back, isn't she? I hope you know by now that she's dangerous."

"She's mine," Duke snarled at him before closing the book and throwing it against the wall.

"My God, Duke, what have you done?" Simon yelled, voice tinged with disbelief and disappointment. "I never expected you to grow up with good taste in women, but you couldn't have made a worse choice."

Duke refused to look at him, but spoke to him with his back turned. "She isn't dangerous. Audrey has done nothing but try to help people." _And she __**loves**__ me_, he added to himself.

"You may want to believe that, but they're always the same. They can't change, Duke. In the end she'll be just like her mother and Lucy's mother before her, and the sooner you accept that, the better off you'll be, the whole town will be."

_Her mother?_ Duke wondered. "It's not true. I don't know what sort of differences you might have had with Lucy, but-"

"She killed me."

"What?" Duke asked blankly.

"Lucy tried to get away, but I found her up in East Millinocket a few months after she left Haven. And..." He used a hand to gesture towards himself, indicating his deceased state.

"Audrey isn't like Lucy," Duke insisted mulishly.

"You're banking a lot on the hope that she isn't," Simon warned him.

"That's my business."

"And mine is convincing you that you need to end what troubles you can. Put your shoes on, we need to go somewhere."

Duke stared at him in disbelief, but found himself putting on his shoes. He had no interest in being convinced to kill Audrey or anyone else, but a fiery curiosity ate at him and it wanted to know what Simon had to show him.

"Did you want me to drive?" Duke asked. "I'm betting you're a little rusty."

Simon just glowered at him and made for the door.

* * *

><p>After they got to the police station, Audrey began to look into the electronic trails that would confirm the suspicion that Arlo had faked his own death. Nathan interrupted her before she could finish, insisting that they drive over to a local cemetery to check into something else. She got Stan to promise to monitor her office phone and let her know if the banks and other leads got back to her.<p>

"Arlo's estate has been settled. His credit cards have all been canceled," Audrey commented as they walked through the cemetery. Stan had made good on his promise, and she made a mental note to pick him up something at Rosemary's on the way in to work tomorrow. Not all cops loved donuts, but Stan enjoyed living up to the cliché.

"Smart people who have faked their own deaths put away the plastic. Only one way to find out for sure if he's dead." Audrey gave him a slightly horrified look, but he ignored it. "Talk to the grave digger. Excuse me," Nathan said loudly as they approached a group of people tending graves.

One of them threw a join into the grass and started to walk away. Nathan followed him. "Kyle Hopkins?"

A sandy-haired man in his late twenties looked over at them reluctantly. "Yeah."

"Haven PD," Audrey said, holding up her badge.

"I know who you are," Kyle said, glaring at her. "Because of you I had to bury Reverend Driscoll, the finest man in Haven."

Audrey looked away, hoping that doing so would help her keep her grip on her temper. Every time someone brought up the Rev's death in an accusing tone, she felt like lashing out. Killing the Rev was the right thing to do and it made her feel angry and helpless that so many people disagreed with that obvious truth.

"And I know _what_ you are," Kyle added angrily, giving Nathan a pointed look.

"You need to watch your mouth," Audrey snapped in defense of her partner, feeling the control over her emotions beginning to slip despite her best efforts.

"It's a free country," Kyle shot back. He tilted his head towards Nathan. "His kind wants to hold meetings, and my kind needs to call it like it is."

While Audrey and Kyle stared daggers at each other, Nathan held his own cool. "I need you to dig up Arlo McMartin."

"Got a court order?"

"You're on probation, right?"

"So?"

"So that joint you just tossed? It could cost you some time," Nathan suggested casually. "Or you could dig up a grave. It's your call."

Kyle gave him another dirty look, but before long the three of them were standing over Arlo's unearthed casket. It was the cheapest of pine boxes, making Audrey suspect that there had been no love lost between the dead couple.

She held up a photocopy of Arlo's license photo, and they compared it to the corpse in the casket. "Definitely not faking it," Nathan concluded.

"Oh," Audrey hissed in disgust. "So what do you think? Clones, ghosts? Zombies are trendy."

Nathan was distracted by his phone before he could answer her. He spoke for a moment before turning to Audrey. "Another homicide."

"Another dead guy do it?"

"No. A dead girl told her brother to do it."

* * *

><p>Back at the station they found themselves talking to a young man whose hands were covered in blood. They confirmed that the boy's sister Annie had committed suicide the year before, but he insisted that his sister had come back to tell him that she'd only killed herself because his victim had raped her.<p>

"Does it seem like Bruce's sister came back for revenge?" Audrey asked after another officer led the suspect away.

"Or to tell the truth."

"Yeah, to her big brother?" Audrey asked. "Same thing."

Vince and Dave burst in a moment later, asking them to confirm that Sheila McMartin had been murdered and her husband's ghost seen. In return they told Nathan that "everyone" knew that the dead woman had been seeing her neighbor, and learning that had cost her husband his life when he'd had a massive heart attack at the ripe old age of thirty-four.

"So maybe the dead are coming back to settle old scores?" Audrey suggested.

"And they're using the living to do it for them," Nathan said in a wondering tone.

* * *

><p><em>I never should have let a dead guy navigate<em>, Duke found himself thinking for the fifth time. _And not just because it casts aspersions against my mental state. This is still probably quicker than teaching him to use GPS, though._

"Maybe here?" Simon suggested doubtfully, pointing down a dirt road. They'd been driving aimlessly around Haven's back roads for what seemed like forever. "I'm sorry, things have changed a lot since I...you know. Like you owning a restaurant, for example. That was unexpected."

"Can we not discuss what you thought I'd be when I grew up right now? I'd like to actually find whatever it is that has you wasting all my gas this morning."

"Okay. Take this road," Simon said, sounding a little surer. "And did I read that sign at the Shell station correctly? Gas has really gone up that much?"

"Yes, Dad, it has. I know that you used to be able to buy gas for a handful of shells and glass beads, but this is 2011. We pay through the nose now."

After a mile, Simon began to look excited. "Stop here. This is it."

Duke pulled off the road and twisted in his seat to watch his father. Simon flowed through the material of the door, and stood by the truck. "Come on," Simon encouraged impatiently.

His father's feet touched the ground, which Duke found fascinating. Simon couldn't pick up a glass or open a car door, but somehow his feet still carried on with the semblance of walking. "Ghost physics, wonder if they teach that at U-Maine," he muttered under his breath. "Nah, maybe Cal State."

"What do you see?" Simon asked when they came to a stop in a field of wildflowers.

"A subliminal suggestion about what to buy my girlfriend this afternoon as a 'sorry my dad wants me to kill you gift'?" Duke suggested. Simon glared at him. "A field."

"And twenty-six years ago last May there was a campout here. Mrs Alloway's class. I knew some of them."

"Yeah, and all of those kids died," Duke said, wondering how Simon could have known that. The camping trip had happened about a year after Simon's boat had been lost at sea. All these years later, Duke still occasionally had nightmares about that day.

In fact, the infamously fatal fieldtrip had been just a couple of months before Simon's body had finally been recovered and buried at Seaside cemetery with a headstone carved with the date of the shipwreck standing over it. When he was young, Duke made the mistake of wondering aloud where his father's body had been all that time between the shipwreck and its recovery, but the pained look on his mother's face kept him from ever mentioning it in her presence again.

"Remember how they died?" Simon asked pointedly, making his son look at him.

Duke snapped, "Food poisoning," and Simon looked disappointed in him again. "Or not."

"The tents were pitched in a big circle, here, around a fire. Mrs Alloway told a campfire story. It scared Jenny Meir so badly that her curse kicked in." Simon glanced at him, and Duke looked away, uncomfortable. "Fear poured out of her in toxic waves. Twelve kids and two chaperones died."

"What does that have to do with you?" Duke demanded to know.

"I could have saved them. I had the chance to kill Jenny's grandfather a week before the camping trip."

"But you didn't."

"No. I couldn't. The day after it happened, he begged me to kill him."

"And then you did," Duke said, pointing at him.

Part of him, the part that was forever a small boy, wanted to throw a temper tantrum and demand to know why Simon hadn't come back to see him before he died if he hadn't gone down with his ship and had been in Haven the year after Duke last saw him. Staring at the shade, Duke wondered, _what sort of person lets his wife and child think he died the year before he really did? Miserable bastard._

_Dammit_, Duke thought with a start. _Mom had to know once they found him. There's no way that the coroner could have been unable to tell the difference between a body in the water for over a year and a fresher one. She knew and didn't tell me. Because she didn't want to think about it herself? Or to protect me? _Either option struck him as equally plausible.

Simon didn't notice that he'd lost Duke's focus, and was going on in an absurdly pious tone, "His pain was over in a minute. Mine lasted...every time I saw the parents of those kids. You have a responsibility, Duke. A destiny."

"You can go back to hell," Duke growled, shouldering past the ghost who shimmered in his wake before reforming.

"Hasn't anyone you've ever known died because of the troubles?" Simon asked, and Duke looked back at him, mouth open. "Anyone you cared about?"

Duke simply stared at him, thinking of Evi and Vanessa.

"You could have saved them," Simon insisted.

"You trying to guilt me with that, that's rich. How could I have saved them, Dad? By stalking the families of the troubled involved in their deaths?" Duke snapped. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm not psychic and they don't go around wearing a scarlet T pinned to their chests. I couldn't have saved anyone."

With that, he stalked off, not bothering to look back and see if his father's ghost was still staring after him.

* * *

><p>Back at the station Nathan and Audrey tried to connect the dots between their two victims. They sat in front of a computer and tried to see if they could find connections with information in the public domain.<p>

"Our dead people had different families, and different jobs," Audrey said after they failed to find family or employment connection between the two victims.

"One died of natural causes, one committed suicide," Nathan added.

"One was Catholic, one agnostic." She paused, not comfortable with the look he gave her, like she should be connecting the dots faster than she was. "And they both had funeral services with different churches."

Nathan continued to type. "But they were both buried at-"

"Eastside cemetery," Audrey finished reading. Then she pointed at the screen.

* * *

><p>Nathan glanced at her when he parked his truck. She hadn't said a word since leaving the station. "Do you want to talk about it?"<p>

"Talk about what?" she asked, giving him a slightly puzzled look.

"Whatever it is that has you so deep in thought that you've been silent."

"I'm not allowed to say nothing?" she joked, obviously trying to deflect.

"You're allowed, you just don't clam up like this," he insisted, not letting her off the hook.

Sighing, she told him everything about what Lucy Ripley had told her, and what Duke had discovered in his father's things. "So, forgive me for being a little unsettled that my boyfriend's father thinks he ought to kill me," she concluded. "I know Duke would never hurt me, but it still feels very strange that his father would ask him to get rid of me in a posthumous note like that."

As she spoke, a horrified worry began to erode the fragile trust he'd placed in Duke's insistence that he wouldn't hurt Audrey. Duke might have even convinced himself of that, but now that Simon Crocker was mixed up in things, Nathan could no longer even pretend to believe that Duke's screwed up mind frame about his father wouldn't spill over into hurting the very woman he loved. Over the years Nathan had heard Duke defend his father with a vehemence the bastard hadn't ever come close to earning too many times to think that having his final demands metaphorically whispering in Duke's ear wouldn't lead Duke down dark paths if that's what Simon had wanted.

Tilting his head, he considered telling Audrey all of this flat out, but he knew she'd immediately reject his theory. So, swallowing a bad taste in his mouth, he decided that sewing the seeds of doubt was all he could do. A suspicious woman would be more likely to guard herself than a besotted one. "Audrey, I know you think you know Duke-"

"I do," she insisted. "Intimately."

"No, you don't." He shook his head. "A couple of years ago rolled back into town, invited me to go fishing, wanted to be friends again. It felt good. I let myself believe that he'd changed. Then I found out the real reason he wanted to go fishing - to cover for him smuggling. He figured if the coast guard pulled up, I could flash my badge. I was so pissed, I went after him. We beat on each other for an hour. And then I realized that I couldn't feel it. My trouble came back because of that fight with Duke, and I don't think he even gave a damn."

"Then he's changed," Audrey told him seriously. "And have you ever stopped to think that maybe he really wanted to be friends with you again? Things are seldom as simple as only having a single motivation for him."

"What?" Nathan asked, having never considered the possibility.

"Nathan, think of how many times he's helped us with our cases. If that's not him trying to get you to forgive him, how do you explain it?"

It was on the tip of his tongue to snap that it was just part of an elaborate plan to win her over, but a tiny voice in the back of his mind spoke up and asked what would make him continue to do so over the past several weeks now that he'd found himself in her bed and nothing bigger than that was left to gain from her. Pushing that away, he said firmly, "You can never trust him."

"But I do trust him," Audrey said softly.

The look he gave her was bitter. "Then you're trusting him with your life."

Audrey touched his arm. "I know. I trust you both with it every day, Nathan, now more than ever. I can't do any good in this town without you. Both of you. Don't you realize that?" She gave him a long look. "Come on, let's go."

As she turned and walked away, he was slow to follow her. Until just then he hadn't consciously realized what she said was true. She was an outsider, and not loved by many people in town, so she really did have to depend on him and Duke to watch her back, especially now that she'd killed the Rev.

When he caught up to her, she was standing over the dead girl's grave.

"So Bruce's sister's grave looks untouched, just like Arlo's."

"Everything looks normal, cemetery normal at least. I don't get it."

"Parker," Nathan said urgently, making her look at him.

"What?"

He looked around, stunned. People were walking towards them, and she acted like she hadn't noticed. Staring at her, he wondered if that was because she truly didn't. "You don't see them?"

"See who?"

"Dead people, all around us. You don't see them," he repeated, still unable to believe that. "There must be twenty of them. More."

She squinted, as if that might help. "I don't see anybody. But you do, why?"

The dead people crowded closer, as if they were either spoiling for a fight or trying to hear their conversation. "Maybe because you're immune to the troubles." The ghosts mostly gave them impassive looks, though a few looked upset.

"So ghosts are wandering the streets of Haven and I'm the only one who can't see them. That's perfect."

As one the ghosts turned and walked away. Nathan should have felt relieved, but he didn't. "They're leaving."

"Okay, where are they going?"

"Worst case, off to kill twenty more people."

"Wonderful. Looks like the dead are making their presence known."

"There's no way we can track them all. We've got to find who is causing this."

Audrey glanced away and noticed that Duke was crouched over a grave, burying the box his father had left for him in the soil. She immediately began to walk towards him, ignoring Nathan when he called her name.


	25. Something to Keep Safe

_Uh, if no one much is interested in this at the moment, I've got X-Files fics I can spend time on instead...Anyway, here's my **other** favorite chapter from this episode. _

* * *

><p>Duke looked up, and saw Nathan and Audrey walking towards him. Only Audrey looked even remotely pleased to see him.<p>

"What are you doing?" Audrey asked cautiously.

"Pissing off my father, I imagine," Duke told her while tamping dirt down around the box. "He'll probably give me hell about this later."

"You've seen him?"

"Yes, I have." He looked up at her. "You don't sound surprised. Why don't you sound surprised, Audrey? Have you been anticipating my having a psychotic break?" Maybe she'd been humoring him when she claimed to understand why he'd tried to buddy up to the Rev. Maybe it was something else that made her not blink when he admitted to seeing a father-shaped figment of his imagination, but it was definitely something.

Nathan spoke up reluctantly. "As much as I'd love to convince you that you're cracking up, you're not losing your mind. We've been fielding ghost related problems all day."

"Oh? Have they told people to kill anyone?" Duke asked, his relief tempered by the knowledge that the ghosts were real but still causing problems of a non-psychological nature.

"Actually, yes." Audrey filled him in on the two cases that they'd been working on.

"So my father isn't the only ghost out for blood in Haven. Great."

"Whose blood is your father out for?" Nathan asked.

Audrey answered for him. "We all know the answer to that, mine."

Duke gestured towards her. "I wish it was that simple. Had he merely come back because he decided his little note wasn't doing the trick, I'd just tell him 'Dad, I'm not going to kill the love of my life for you, so go to hell' but he's got bigger fish to fry than that." He watched her face as he spoke, and was momentarily gratified to see the hint of a smile when he called her the love of his life.

"But according to Pop, I can kill troubles. All I have to do is kill the oldest member of a troubled family, and poof, everyone else in the family is trouble-free forever, freeing us all up for singing Kumbaya in gratitude."

"Seriously?" Audrey asked.

"Seriously. And I'm seriously not interested in a new career as assassin, so I ended up burying the weapons box out here."

"Let me get this straight," Nathan said in disbelief. "You can end a trouble?"

"Just have to kill someone to do it," Duke hooked a thumb at him as they all walked towards the cemetery's exit. "Try not to forget that part."

"Wait, wasn't your father buried at Seaside?" Nathan asked, stopping short.

"Seaside is eroding. They moved him here about a year ago."

"Wait," Audrey said, smacking Nathan for no apparent reason. Duke was amused that he winced. "Who moved him?"

"Someone from this cemetery, I guess."

Nathan pulled out his phone. "We need to get a hold of the caretaker and find out who buried who." Audrey murmured an agreement, and Duke just wondered what the hell they were going to do. "Maybe that's our link," Nathan suggested. That said, he wandered off, leaving them standing there alone.

To Duke's surprise, Audrey laughed. "What?" he asked, dying to know what she found funny.

"He just warned me a little while ago not to trust you, ever, and there he goes. I guess he trusts you more than he thinks," she explained.

"Maybe. Sometimes envy feels like concern," he said, thinking again that it was Nathan's own damn fault that he wasn't as happy as they were. So much was in his reach, if only Nathan would put a hand out to take it.

"True," she replied.

"Did you get your answers?" Duke asked listlessly. He knew that he should care, but he was too overwhelmed to do so more than superficially. "This morning?"

"Some of them," she admitted. "Vince and Dave insist that I've been here at least twice before, once as Lucy, once as a woman named Sarah, but they claim not to know what happens to me in between times I come here or why I look so similar every time."

Sighing, Duke leaned against a stone post. "Do you ever wonder why you're here?"

"No. That's the one thing I don't wonder about any more. I'm here to help the troubled."

"Yeah, but doesn't it bother you that you never really solve anything? I mean a week goes by, a month, twenty years, whatever. The troubles keep coming back. And people keep dying."

"I have no alternative," she insisted.

Sadness bubbled up in him, and not just for her. Ever since his father's journal gave him that horrible little revelation about his supposed destiny, he was beginning to feel like he was trapped by circumstances too.

"But what if you did?" he asked, and she didn't say anything. "I'm wondering if that's what Lucy did, try to take the alternative."

"What do you mean?" Audrey asked.

"My father told me about a camping trip that ended in tragedy twenty-six years ago last May," Duke told her. "And how she killed him not long afterwards."

"But she left Haven more than twenty-seven years ago. I thought the troubles ended when she left," Audrey replied, looking confused. "Besides Nathan's trouble, that is, but that hasn't followed the rest all that closely, anyway."

"I guess that they didn't. And didn't you tell me that according to Lucy Ripley my father went looking for her months later?" Duke asked, watching Nathan coming back toward them still carrying his phone. "After she left Haven?"

"Yes."

"If Lucy and my father are both telling the truth, and the odds of them both lying seems small, she made it out of Haven months before the troubles ended. Doesn't it make you wonder why she left if the troubles were still on-going?"

Audrey tilted her head. "What aren't you telling me, Duke?"

Nathan raised his eyebrows, but said nothing.

Duke sighed. "I don't think he realized that he did it, but Audrey, my father referred to Lucy as your mother. He said you'd turn out just like her, and her mother before her." Ignoring Nathan, who'd no doubt just give him a dirty look considering his obvious bad mood, he drew Audrey into his arms. "Just like you thought at the beginning of all of this."

"I don't kn-" Nathan began to object.

Duke looked over to him. "What if the reason that Vince and Dave don't know where 'she' goes or why 'she' looks similar but not identical each time is because she's not the same person, and 'she' doesn't go anywhere?" Duke asked. "Maybe she's not the exact same person, but...reborn. The timing of how long Lucy was alive outside of Haven to have killed my father in East Millinocket works out." Addressing Audrey, Duke concluded his thought with, "Maybe she left before the troubles were over because she had something important that she needed to keep safe from the craziness in Haven...you."

Audrey leaned her head against his chest and said nothing, but Nathan spoke up. "So what are you suggesting, Duke, some sort of reincarnation?"

"I think it's a possibility. I know you've seen that **Seventh Sign** movie where the mother dies and gives the baby her soul, Nathan. It could be something like that."

"Maybe," Audrey said so softly that they almost didn't hear her.

Duke pulled her away gently. "Lots of people have scars from cutting their feet. You could have stepped on glass as a kid too, who knows. Don't let a coincidence convince you that you don't deserve your own identity and more importantly a future, sweetheart."

"What about me not having my own memories?" Audrey asked. "If I'm Lucy's daughter, I should have had a childhood. A past."

He shrugged, thinking about how the other Audrey had both before they'd been ripped away from her. "I don't know yet."

"If he's right, we'll figure it out," Nathan insisted to Duke's surprise.

"See? Even Nathan thinks I might not be insane to suggest it. If that's not a ringing endorsement, I don't know what is," Duke said, grinning at them both. For the first time all day he felt like the clouds had lifted.

Audrey stepped away from them both, and took a moment to regain her composure. "We need to talk about all of this, but later. Okay? Later. Nathan, did you find anything out with your call?"

"The caretaker said that the person who moved Simon is the same person who buried Arlo and Annie. It's Kyle Hopkins."

"We need to find him," Audrey said, looking relieved to be talking shop instead of about the mysteries surrounding her identity.

He didn't reply. Instead Nathan looked off in the distance, seeming stunned, so Duke looked too. A familiar person walked near some gravestones a few hundred yards away. Duke pointed. "That's, ah-"

"Wait, what do you see?" Audrey asked, looking too and seeing nothing.

"The chief," Nathan said in a strangled voice. "But he wasn't buried at Eastside. What is he doing here?"

Duke leaned close to him. "Take it from me, you may not what to know."

"Go," Audrey encouraged Nathan, ignoring Duke's look of dismay. "Go talk to him."

Nathan continued to look dazed. "What do I say?"

"Nathan, it doesn't matter what you say, all right?" Audrey said. "You get a chance to be with your dad again. That's a gift. You don't pass that up, just go. I'll find Kyle."

Nathan looked at them. "You two going to be all right?"

"Yeah, go," Duke said gesturing towards where the chief was reading gravestones. "Forget what I said earlier. Your dad's always been less of a jerk than mine."

Nathan walked towards the chief like a man dreaming.

"Reunions are overrated, but I guess he deserves to have one too." Duke put his arm around her waist. "Come on, let's go and leave them to it."

* * *

><p>"In memory of Rufus P Barker," the chief said as Nathan reached him. "1812 to 1841. No matter how well you are prepared for something, dying has a way of sneaking up on you." When Nathan just stared at him, he shrugged. "Hello, Nathan."<p>

"Chief." He noticed that his father was rubbing his arm. "Are you all right?" It felt like a ridiculous question, but he couldn't think of anything better to ask.

"You try getting blown into a thousand pieces and tell me how you feel. I guess must of lost one piece here." He stamped around a bit, looking for the lost piece. "So what's the story, how did you explain my death?"

Nathan's voice wobbled. "Told people you were lost at sea. I, I picked up your pieces, put 'em in a cooler and buried you on Goose Hill."

"You buried me in a cooler?"

"Yeah."

"What cooler?"

"Blue one."

The chief shook his head. "What a waste of a good cooler."

"Dad, what are you doing here?"

The chief shook his head. "Don't know. I miss the rain."

"That's not why you're here."

"It's funny what you miss."

"That's not why you're here," Nathan said insistently.

"I'm not back from the dead ten minutes and you're already jumping all over me?"

"I'm not. Not." Nathan gave him a flustered look.

"Yeah, you are."

"Ghosts are coming back to settle scores. Is that what you're doing?" Nathan asked, trying to be calmer.

"No. No, I don't think so. I suspect that I'm here to see you, son. How are things? How are you doing?"

Nathan gave him a long look. "I'm talking to my dead dad in a graveyard."

"Serious question, needs a serious answer."

"It's getting more and more dangerous. The troubles are everywhere. The Rev's death has people stirred up."

"Reverend Driscoll is dead?"

"Yeah, Parker shot him."

The chief looked thrilled. "Good for her. Good."

"You knew her when she was Lucy," Nathan said, thinking about Duke's theory. He didn't have an opinion about it yet, not really, so he decided to frame his questions with what people like his father had believed instead. "Why didn't you tell her?"

"Well, think about that question for a second and tell me what I should have said to her. I don't think you appreciate how precarious our position is here. This town is like sitting on top of a volcano. And you're worried about how she feels? Come on."

Nathan looked away, unable to explain it to either of their satisfactions, so he didn't even try.

"You two have gotten kind of...close. Is that so?" the chief asked.

"What do you mean?" Nathan asked evasively.

The chief looked annoyed. "Are you in love?"

"I don't know what it is," Nathan told him, though the answer was no. Once he might have said yes, but things had changed so much over the past few weeks. Still, it couldn't hurt to find out what his father meant. "Things have gotten...confusing," he added, hoping that he sounded torn.

"Well stop," the chief commanded firmly.

"What?" Nathan asked, stunned.

"You two can't be in love, it's just not right."

"What's not right about it?"

"I can't-"

Nathan cut him off. "You're not going to tell me? You just expect me to heed your vague warning that it's not okay for me to love her?" The thought that his father had strenuous objections made him feel both curious and confused. When he'd been alive, the chief certainly hadn't encouraged them but he hadn't counseled against being more than friends, either. It made him wonder if he'd hidden his feelings for Audrey so well from his father that the older man hadn't given the possibility of anything more than friendship between them any thought before he passed.

"I-" The chief stared at him. "Nothing good could come of it, Nathan. Kill your romantic feelings for her now, before you're sure of them, or you'll both end up in a world of hurt, mark my words."

The chief started to fade away. "Dad!"

"Your job is to keep her alive. That is **all**, understand me?"

Then he was gone, leaving Nathan to stare at the spot where he'd so recently stood.

* * *

><p>While Nathan spoke to his late father, Duke drove down Haven's streets, unwisely relying on Audrey's sense of direction to get them where they were going. He could sympathize because he'd spent enough time outside of New England during his travels to know that as staid as New England purported itself to be, there had been a lot of reckless abandon put into road design, which often made navigating those roads baffling to non-locals. Still, though, they were getting nowhere fast.<p>

"If Nathan doesn't trust me, shouldn't he have insisted on a chaperon? You know, especially considering my father has left me a to-do list that includes killing you," Duke said as they finally drove down a street in Kyle's neighborhood. "I must be extra untrustworthy now."

"I don't think he expected me to believe him. You're way too helpful to us both for him to want me not to trust you with this stuff."

"Well good," Duke replied sarcastically. "I'm glad to know that it was just an attempt to break us up, not to also convince you that I've outlived my usefulness."

"But you are useful, Duke," she said sweetly. "I can't see the dead, so I need you to be my eyes."

"Perfect. Because 'I see dead people'."

"Exactly."

He glanced over at her. "Missed that movie, I take it?"

"What movie?" She stared out the window. "Oh, here. Stop, stop, stop."

As soon as he pulled over, she jumped out and hurried over to look at something on the pavement.

Duke spread his hands as he walked towards her. "Audrey, what are we doing? I thought you wanted to go look for this Kyle guy."

She pointed at a mark on the pavement, a red circle with crossed lines through it. "These have been popping up around town. I've seen a few of them."

"So? Someone really likes the X-Men."

"What do you mean?"

"Superhero comic, about people with extraordinary abilities? Ring any bells?" When she stared at him, he sighed. "I'll add those movies to your Netflix queue too. Do you watch anything but fantasies and classic films when I don't make you watch other stuff?"

"I know what the X-Men are," she said, rolling her eyes at him. "Sort of. I just don't know what you mean, specifically."

"Oh. This symbol looks like their logo. So, are we done here?" When she ignored him and walked into the yard, he threw up his hands.

"What happened here," she asked, spotting a wallet and a broken mug. "Someone attacked?"

He started to follow her, but as he reached the house's porch, he froze in horror. The Rev was standing at the far end, smirking at him.

"You okay?" she asked, but he barely heard her. The Rev was walking right towards them.

_She must be off her game because she hasn't said 'you look like you've seen a ghost'_, he thought, trying not to let himself become hysterical. "You know what? Um. If you want to go check the house I can keep watch out here."

"Thanks," she said, sounding annoyed, before entering the house and yelling hello.

When Duke was sure that she was out of the range of hearing, he pointed a finger at the Rev's chest. "You better not be here to hurt her."

"I've got more important things to do," the Rev said, smiling ferally.

"Oh yeah, like what?" Duke demanded to know.

"I've come back for you."

"Right." Duke sneered at him. "My father told me about his job. Not interested."

"Your father's here?" The Rev looked both surprised and mildly pleased. "Good. Come with me."

"You know what? I think I'll let the two of you catch up. Maybe you can hit the senior center together."

"Duke. People followed me when I was alive. Think of what they'd do for me now."

He scoffed and started to enter the house. "Come with me," the Rev commanded, making him look at him. "Or I'll take my revenge on Audrey Parker."

Duke weighted the possibilities for a moment before deciding that the Rev was well and truly capable of using someone to make sure that Audrey died. So he poked his head into the house and yelled, "Sorry Audrey, something's come up. You'd better catch a ride with Nathan," and found himself reluctantly following the ghost of the man who had already cost the life of one woman he'd loved once.

* * *

><p>Audrey heard Duke's muffled farewell, but didn't quite believe it. There had been no one inside the house, but there had been a lot more evidence that wherever the homeowner had gone, it hadn't been willingly. In fact, she'd just been about to get Duke and have him help her search the attic and basement to make sure no one was there hurt when he called up to her.<p>

She stepped outside and phoned Nathan, who sounded a little off himself.

A few minutes later he swung by and picked her up, and immediately turned on a loud sporting event on his AM radio, presumably so they wouldn't need to talk about his father. Bored, she talked over the radio to annoy him, but tried to resist the temptation to demand to know what was said once she left the cemetery. "So, have you seen Jess lately?"

"Jess?" he asked, not taking his eyes off the road. "No, why?"

"Funny, when I ran into her yesterday she told me about going to Kittery with you this past weekend."

"Oh, that."

"Yeah, that. What did you do?"

"Kyle's house is coming up," Nathan mumbled in reply. They stopped and hopped out, something that once again left Audrey wishing that he drove something a little closer to the ground. His much longer legs made getting in and out of his ugly blue baby a lot easier on him. "I can't believe Duke just left you there."

"Something came up," she said, finding herself defending Duke despite her own minor irritation with his behavior. She did, though, because while she was merely inconvenienced, Nathan made it sound like it was more evidence of Duke's moral failings. _It must be hard to keep that sort of running tally of other people's wrong-doings_, she thought, _even for a cop_.

"Something always does," Nathan shot back darkly.

"Did you mean 'in Haven' or did you want to take some more potshots at Duke?"

Nathan didn't answer her, so she assumed the latter. If he was in the mood to forget tact, so was she. "I can't believe you still haven't told me what your father said."

"He said you're important to the town."

"That's it?"

"He said he missed the rain on his face," Nathan said, giving an evasive shrug.

_What doesn't he want me to know? _she wondered. "I know that's Wuornos for 'I'm not telling you." But don't worry, I'll get it out of you later," she teased. To her surprise, he wrapped his fingers around her forearm, pulling her to a halt. "What did I tell you about grabbing m-"

"He said it was my job to keep you alive," Nathan said fiercely, letting her go.

"He..." Audrey broke off and gave an unhappy little laugh. "I think that's _my_ job. Not that I don't appreciate the backup."

"You keep going the way you're going and you'll need more than backup."

Audrey threw her hands up in the air. "I'm not supposed to trust anyone but you, is that it? I hate to break it to you, Nathan, but I can't live that way. No one can allow that level of paranoia to take the driver's seat and come through things sane."

For a moment he just looked at her, and she saw a mix of frustration and sadness in his eyes. "Just...try to be more careful."

The Tegues' explanation about how stress had changed Sarah for the worse jumped to the forefront of her mind before she could even think of a snappy retort. So too did the vow she'd made to herself the day she met Lucy Ripley about trying not to worry Nathan so much come to mind. Shoulders sagging, she just nodded slowly. "For your sake, I promise that I'll try."

"For your own," he corrected her.

"All right." Anything to keep him from continuing to look at her like that, like she was on suicide watch and didn't even know it.


	26. First Blood

The door to Kyle's house opened, and Audrey wondered if the woman had been watching them bicker as they approached the house. "Can I help you?" she asked, looking a little suspicious. Her hand was on her belly, and Audrey guessed that she was six or seven months pregnant. Kyle's wife, she surmised.

Audrey decided that maybe the appearance of fighting could be molded to give their inquiry credence. "We're looking-" Nathan started to say, but she cut him off by grabbing his arm and shooting him a dirty look she hoped he understood was an act before giving the woman a hopeful smile.

"Hi, we're actually looking for 134 Drapper Place, the Gundersons?"

"I don't know them. And this is Park Street."

"I'm so sorry," Audrey apologized before turning to Nathan. "I told you to ask for directions," she snapped.

"Well, maybe I would have had time to if you didn't take so damn long getting ready," he fired back, obviously having caught her drift.

"You're the one who insisted I change," Audrey said icily.

"Just because I didn't think my boss would appreciate it if you showed up looking like a tramp."

She widened her eyes in mock horror, but was slightly concerned from their victim's face that they were now overselling their argument. Too late now, she decided. "No, Phillip, you were afraid that he _would_ appreciate it." Turning back to the woman who now looked desperate to be anywhere else, Audrey gave her a terse smile. "Sorry about this. We'll, uh..."

"Get in the car, Gwen," Nathan said snottily. "This poor woman can't leave until we unblock her driveway."

"Yeah, okay." She looked over to the woman again, who was now hurrying to her car. "Sorry."

The woman ignored them completely, as if she could make them disappear if she pretended hard enough that they didn't exist. Audrey leaned towards Nathan and whispered, "Do you see the red paint on her hand? It matches those marks I told you about."

"The X-Men logos?"

"How do you and Duke both...? Never mind, I don't even want to know the sordid details of your youth that badly."

"There's nothing wrong with reading comics," Nathan insisted stiffly, scowling when she looked skeptical. "What do the Xs have to do with Kyle?"

"I don't know. But it's too much of a coincidence that they showed up now. Let's follow her and see if she leads us to her husband."

Nathan backed up his truck and let Kyle's wife out, then followed at a discrete distance.

* * *

><p>In The Woods<p>

Duke had no idea where they were. Throw him in the ocean, and he'd swim home before you knew it, but he his unerring sense of direction didn't extend to dry land. All he saw were the trees in front of him, and they looked virtually identical. At least there wasn't a corpse impaled on any of them.

"You know, I already went on one ghost-led fieldtrip today," Duke complained as he followed the Rev. "Can we make this one brief?"

The ghost had had him park about half a mile away, and he didn't seem inclined to stop any time soon. _Why would he_, Duke thought bitterly, _he doesn't need to eat, drink, or sleep any more. I think. Argh, don't let me witness a ghost stopping to take a leak if I'm wrong about that._

"Buck up, Duke," the Rev commanded. "Journeys on foot build character."

"That's okay. I think I've got enough character already. Some people would say too much." His first thought was Nathan, but there were plenty of other people who'd probably agree. "And I thought Jesus was supposed to carry us when we got tired. Is your boy JC going to show up soon for Sherpa service?"

This earned him a thunderous look. "Don't blaspheme."

"Sorry. If I can't catch a piggyback ride, how about a clue as to what we're doing out here?"

The Rev's smile was horrible to behold. "Some people stumble upon their destiny, but others need a push in the right direction. Consider this your push."

"Somehow I don't like the sound of that," Duke muttered under his breath.

A building came into sight, and the Rev gestured toward it. Dread swirled in his guts when he remembered the outcome the last time someone had stumbled across a building like it out in the middle of the woods.

Scared, he found himself starting an internal dialogue with a deity that as a Buddhist he was pretty sure didn't exist. _Are you there God, it's me, Duke. Please don't let me get my mind wiped like brunette Audrey. Sure, there are things I'd love to forget, who doesn't have things like that in their pasts, but I'd rather remember it all than forget about the good things._

The Rev beckoned, and Duke found himself stumbling forward, hoping that something, the universe maybe, had listened.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile<p>

As they followed Kyle's wife's car, Nathan occasionally glanced at Audrey. She didn't seem to notice and he didn't mind. For the first time all day he was feeling hopeful, because he had the sense that she'd really listened to him this time. There was something about her expression when he admitted that his father told him to keep her alive that made him think that she was actually thinking about him too for once lately rather than what she saw as her duty to the troubled. No doubt she'd thought about Duke as well, then but he found that he didn't mind that either. If her considering her recklessness' effect on Duke made her a little more cautious, he'd have to grin and bear it. If only to keep her safer than his father had Lucy, back when Lucy had been his father's responsibility. It had been guilt over that, he was sure, that had sparked the cryptic admonishments he'd left him with.

Their mark's car slowed down, and Audrey finally looked at him. Her blue eyes locked on his for a moment, and she gave him a wan smile. "What are you thinking about?" she asked, sounding tired.

_How terrified I am that no matter what I do you're going to disappear off the face of the earth just like Lucy did, and that it'll damage me the same way that failing to save her did my father_, he thought. "This case," he said instead.

"Of course."

She opened her door and jumped out, effectively killing their conversation. He watched her as he walked around his truck, and felt only a sense of relief. Some things were better unsaid, as far as he was concerned.

The pregnant woman didn't seem to notice that she was being followed at a distance, and from the way she ducked past branches and stepped over fallen logs it was obvious that she knew exactly where she was headed, as if she'd been there many times before. If she had anything to do with the symbols that Audrey was seeing all over town, maybe she had.

Eventually she broke though the foliage and stepped into a clearing. There had to be other ways to reach the area, because there were vehicles parked there, in front of a medium sized barn-like structure, probably a storage shed. Some people sat in front of it, using gas cans and glass bottles with cloth wicks to make Molotov cocktails. If the gathering hadn't been enough to tip off Nathan's cop sense for potential danger, that sight did the trick.

He noticed that Audrey's eyes widened when they saw someone open the back of a van and drag someone out. The person, a young man, struggled weakly in his captor's hands before someone held a cloth to his nose and mouth, and then he went limp.

"Chloroform?" she suggested, her tone outraged.

The unconscious man was carried to the shed, and someone swung the door open. When they did, scores of bodies were visible, and Nathan could only hope that they were also unconscious, not dead.

"They're going to burn that building," Nathan said heavily. He knew that they would of course try to save the day, but they were badly outnumbered, so he wasn't sure how they could start without being immediately gunned down by one or more of the people toting shotguns. "The people in the shed must be troubled."

"Guess we know what the Xs marked," Audrey said, sounding as grim as he felt himself.

Out of the corner of his eye, Nathan caught movement, so he turned to look. The Rev was stomping up a path out of the woods. "Oh my God. The Rev is here."

* * *

><p>Audrey gave him a disbelieving look before she realized that while she couldn't see the Rev, she could see Duke. He must have been right behind the Rev, because he had the air of someone following a person they didn't like, such as a warden leading them down death row. "What is Duke doing here?" she whispered.<p>

The next thing she was aware of was the feeling of cold metal pressed up against the back of her head. She and Nathan found themselves being disarmed by three men with guns and prodded away.

* * *

><p>Duke rounded on the Rev, who merely smirked at him now that he'd fulfilled his threat of pushing him along the proper path. "You tell me what's going on, or I'm out of here," Duke insisted. The last thing he wanted was anything to do with the people milling around full of malicious purpose.<p>

"Take a look," the Rev suggested, nodding towards the shed.

Up until then, Duke had had his back towards the door, but he turned to see what the Rev meant, hoping that it wasn't something horrific. His hope crashed and burned when he saw the bodies carpeting the shed's floor. "Oh my God," he said, rushing to the door. "What have you done?"

"They're not dead, just unconscious," the Rev told him, as if he should derive a great deal of comfort from that. "Couldn't risk their, curses, causing us problems."

Duke raised an accusatory finger. "You are insane." Sweeping his arm to encompass the rest of the group, he added, "All of you. You are all insane. I am not going to stand here and let you burn these people."

"No, they're not going to burn," the Rev said, shaking his head. "You're going to save them."

"Save them?" Duke sputtered. "You want me to kill them!"

"It's the only way to save them," the Rev insisted. "To save their families."

The idea was so reprehensible that he couldn't even begin to formulate a reply. Taking advantage of the lull while Duke tried to gather his wits, a man pressed a knife into his hand. Duke immediately lunged for him, but the man was quicker, and backed out of range. Still upset and sensing that people were coming behind him, Duke rounded on them, knife raised defensively.

And saw that Audrey and Nathan were with them. Men had guns trained on them, proving that they hadn't joined the little gathering willingly.

"Duke, what are you doing?" Audrey nervously demanded to know.

Duke swung away from her, and back towards the Rev.

"You working with the Rev?" Nathan asked roughly.

The question startled Duke. How could anyone, even Nathan, think that if they'd seen how he'd reacted to the Rev's words? Hadn't they seen anything as they walked towards them? "What?" he asked, vaguely wondering if Nathan was just asking to poison Audrey against him. "No." He looked at the knife in his hand, and decided that maybe it was a legitimate question after all. "No, of course not. I..." Sputtering, he threw the knife into the grass at his own feet.

The Rev's smile melted when Duke tried to grab him, but his fingers passed through him like smoke. "Why did you bring them here?" Duke demanded to know. "I told you that I'm not interested in my father's quest, and you sure as hell won't convince me to hurt them. Not any of these people, but especially not them."

Something quite unlike sanity shined in the dead man's eyes, and Duke more than half expected him to begin spouting that he would, he'd kill them all, Nathan and Audrey included. But the ghost said nothing.

"I remember when you used to preach forgiveness," Nathan said, addressing the Rev as well.

The Rev gave Nathan a rueful smile. "I'm fresh out of forgiveness."

"Should I put them in the shed, Reverend?" Kyle asked. He was one of the people now each holding a gun on Nathan and Audrey.

"No, you should let 'them' go," Nathan suggested before the Rev could speak up. "No need to take orders from a dead man."

Audrey, ignoring the gun that Kyle had brought dangerously close to her head, added, "Especially since you're the one who brought him back, Kyle."

"Audrey, don't," Duke muttered, but if anyone heard him, they gave no sign of it.

Kyle just looked confused. "What are you talking about?"

"We talked to the caretaker. Everyone who has come back has one thing in common. You dug their graves."

"Call him," Nathan told him. "Check for yourself."

"So what?" Kyle scoffed. "I dug a lot of graves."

Duke felt a cool breeze and realized that his father was standing with him and the Rev. He didn't even want to know how he could materialize like that. "They always fight the truth at first," Simon said over Kyle whispering 'no'.

"No, no, no, Reverend, tell them it's not true," Kyle demanded.

The Rev just gave the young grave digger a hard look.

"Then they have that moment," Simon told his son, "when they realize why all their lives they felt different." Kyle's reaction was to assure his wife that everyone was wrong, but she just looked at her feet with a pained expression. "Then they start to beg."

"Marissa?" Kyle asked, but his wife turned her face from him. Waving his gun a little, Kyle then shouted, "Reverend Driscoll, please!"

The ghost wouldn't look at him either, and just shook his head ruefully. "Sorry, I can't help you, Kyle." The Rev pointed at Duke. "But he can. He can save your unborn child from that terrible curse."

Duke's heart slide into his throat when he saw the look Kyle gave his wife. "No. No wait, hold on," Duke told the Rev.

"Save him," the Rev insisted. "Save his family."

The same man who put the knife in his hand earlier took it off the ground and slapped it back onto his palm. Duke held it in his hand, and wondered how either of the ghosts could possibly believe that he was capable of using it to hurt another human being. How had they gotten such a false impression, he wondered.

"It's time, son," Simon told him, as if killing Kyle should be no big deal and he should just stop dragging his feet over it.

Duke stared at Kyle, horrified that the younger man didn't look afraid but instead somewhat pleased. He barely heard when Audrey spoke up. "Duke, what are you doing?"

A tiny part of him was relieved when Nathan apparently realized that she hadn't heard anything the Rev or Simon said, and bent to whisper in her ear.

But that relief dissipated as soon as Kyle dropped his gun and said, "Please, you have to do it. You have to save my child from getting the curse. From me."

"No, we can stop this," Audrey insisted, and in the back of Duke's mind he recognized that it was her 'let's all be reasonable' cop voice, not an actual belief that what had been set in motion could be halted.

Simon leaned towards Duke and snapped, "Don't listen to her."

"She's a liar," the Rev added.

Duke turned to him. "No." He looked back at her desperate face. "She's my..." He got choked up, and trailed off.

"Your girlfriend's grandmother killed your grandfather," Simon said bitingly. "Her mother killed me." He pointed at Audrey. "She will kill you, too."

"Duke, put the knife down," Audrey begged.

"No. A tattooed man is supposed to kill me," Duke muttered.

"She doesn't have to do it with her own hands," Simon insisted.

Duke lowered the hand holding the knife. "You're wrong. She wouldn't hurt me any more than I would her."

He intended to next drop the knife to the ground, but before he could let it go Kyle rushed at him and grabbed his wrist with both hands. Duke tried to pull back, but Kyle pushed himself at the knife, and it cut into him like it was designed to.

As Kyle gagged and held the knife sticking out of his belly, no one else could do anything but gasp and give him horrified looks, not even Duke who was standing inches from him. As he began to fall Kyle's hands slipped away from Duke, painting a line of blood over his wrist with one finger as Marisa helped him to the ground.

Stunned, Duke watched as the blood disappeared, just like when he'd cut Dwight.

Kyle's wife pushed Audrey away when she made a move towards helping her fallen husband, and Kyle just looked up at Duke. "Thank you. My son will be safe now."

Duke noticed that Nathan was giving him a look of grim fascination, but he lacked the wherewithal to ask him why...and only partly because the chief chose that moment to show up and begin to argue with his father. "I know you helped her kill me, Garland," Simon growled.

"No, she just beat me to it." The chief nodded to the Rev. "Hear Audrey killed you too."

"At least he's got a taste of what he's capable of. That's all that matters," the Rev declared.

"Well, she'll kill him too," the chief remarked.

"Not this time," Simon insisted. "She can't stop my son."

"I have a son too, you know." The Chief looked over at Nathan, who was standing over the dying grave digger. "Damn good one. Just take care of our girl, okay?" he asked.

As the ghosts began to fade, Duke looked at Kyle. He was almost gone himself. The ghosts looked resigned as the blinked back out of existence.

Audrey took advantage of the distraction provided by the confusion created when the ghosts left, picking her gun up off the ground and holding it in the way that she'd been taught at Quantico. She aimed at the stunned people, and shouted, "Put your weapons down, now." Guns were put down, and arms were raised in surrender. "You're all under arrest."

Duke stared at her for a moment before slowly walking away and sliding to the ground against the side of the shed. A man was dead. He hadn't killed him, but it had partly been his fault anyway. Neither Audrey nor Nathan tried to stop him, so he decided that he was not under arrest too, and therefore free to quietly freak out while they went about their business.

* * *

><p>Things moved quickly after the Rev's flock surrendered their weapons to Audrey. The rest of the Haven police department soon arrived to begin hauling away those under arrest, and EMTs from five area towns came to deal with the victims. Several of them were able to be revived on the scene, but they were still commanded to submit to being checked out at the hospital. The fire department came too, to make sure that the structure was fire-free.<p>

It took less time to clear people out that Nathan had guessed it would, and he credited Audrey's keeping a cool head as she marshaled the troops with that. _She is behaving like a cop who wants to keep her job again_, he thought cheerfully, _so maybe I won't have to listen to my dad after all. _

Eventually she ran out of things to do, and he caught her eye, motioning for her to come to him. When she did, she gave him a quizzical look. He pointed to where Duke was still quietly leaning up against the side of the shed. "What do we do with Duke?"

"Nothing," she said firmly.

"We can't do noth-"

"Nathan," she interrupted. "You aren't going to haul him in over this. If you want a statement taken, I'll get it for you, but you're not arresting him. He didn't kill Kyle."

"I know," Nathan said patiently. "But does **he** know that?"

To his surprise, her face broke out into a smile and she gave him a quick hug. Before he could wonder why, she said, "Here I assumed that you had it in for him and you're just worried about him. That's surprisingly sweet."

Nathan nearly gave in to the impulse to correct her by pointing out that his main concern was not giving Duke any more time alone to brood over the Rev and his father's insane demands, but he didn't. It was kinder to let Audrey believe that one person she'd dealt with that day was being nice instead of a self-interested jerk. "Right."

"You've got a handle on things, then?"

He looked around. There wasn't much left to handle. "Sure."

Nodding to herself, she left him standing there and made her way over to Duke.

* * *

><p>When Audrey crouched down next to Duke, his empty expression made her worry. She'd been too busy the last half-hour to give much thought about how he was coping with what had happened, too little she chided herself. "Hey."<p>

"Am I under arrest?" he asked in a small, broken voice.

The question made her heart ache. "No, Duke, you're not," she replied gently, deciding to sit next to him. "Are you okay?"

He didn't look at her. "I didn't kill him," Duke told his folded hands. "But I also did kill him. Does that make sense to you? Because it doesn't to me. I killed him but I didn't kill him..."

Sighing, she scooted over and was glad to feel his body relax a little as he pressed against her. "None of this makes sense."

"Good." He looked a little bit more with it, which made her feel better. "I'm glad it doesn't make sense to you, either."

"Why?" Audrey asked, curious.

"If I'm losing my mind, at least you are too, to keep me company."

"I think there's a term in French for that," she said, reaching for one of his hands and squeezing it.

"Probably," he agreed, finally sounding more like himself. "We should ask Jess."

Encouraged, she said, "Sure. Maybe we can have her and Nathan to dinner with us sometime this week, and ask her then."

To her relief, his expression stopped looking so lost. Instead he seemed almost amused. "Now there's an idea. Maybe Nathan will loosen up if we get him laid."

"Duke!" She smiled and swatted playfully at him. "Well, maybe," she considered.

More serious now, he said, "I know you feel like you know him, and in a way you do, but you only know Nathan The Troubled. When he's not, not afflicted, he's not the same."

"How so?" she asked, cringing inside as she thought of Nathan's statements about him earlier in the day.

Duke looked off in Nathan's direction, watching him direct the last few people still on-site. "You've seen him smile, right? Maybe tell a joke, even?"

"Rarely, but yes."

He sighed. "He's not always so tightly wound. You'll be surprised."

Audrey tilted her head, considering his wording. Wanting clarification, she asked, "I would be surprised, or I will be surprised?"

"Will be," he said firmly.

She found his capacity to still be optimistic even after a day like that to be quite amazing. "I guess I will. Come on, time to go home," she said, standing and then offering him a hand. He took it.

"My home or your home?" he asked, using his free hand to brush dirt and pine needles off the seat of his pants.

"Yours. And when we get there I want to do an experiment."

"I don't know, Audrey..." he said, giving her a wary look, "I've already felt like a cosmic force's lab rat all day."

"No, come on. You'll like this one."

"What is it?"

Giving him an arch look she said, "I think your suggestion about Nathan has merit, but it's only fair to test it out on ourselves to see if a person's mood can be significantly improved by-"

"-getting laid?" Duke asked, eyebrows raised.

"It's for science, Duke," she said primly, struggling to keep a straight face.

"Oh, well. If it's for science..." Duke grinned at her and took her hand.

Before they left she said goodbye to Nathan and wished that she could tactfully suggest a way that he could decompress and put the day behind him too. But it just didn't seem possible. Blithely encouraging a visit to Jess was too pushy, and no force on earth could make her utter a suggestion about quality time spent watching adult videos.

So, she settled on nothing at all. "Bye, Nathan."

"Bye."

As she and Duke walked the half-mile back to where the Rev had made him park, Audrey couldn't help but compare the things that Duke and Nathan had each told her about the other over the course the day. Both insisted that she didn't know the other one as well as she thought, but Duke's interpretation was more charitable towards Nathan, which implied that she hadn't been wrong to suggest that he'd wanted Nathan's friendship again. It made her wonder if there was anything she could do to help them mend fences now that it felt like a war had finally been averted.


	27. Bang

_So Faerax is nervous about the wisdom of continuing this story. See, **when** we posted the chapter about the freak September snowstorm, it was true that there was never a big storm pre-Halloween, at least not in the thirty or so years worth of Halloweens we can recall. But then this year there was; the biggest storm of the season was before Halloween. And **when** we posted an explanation for the mild winter there would have had to have been for the timeframe to have been over a year per Nathan's line in "Business as Usual" given that New England winters are never as mild that, it was true that there aren't snowless winters up here... Then we barely have had any snow, probably the least in either of our entire lives. _

_The problem with writing things that come true is that we do something pretty awful to two of our beloved trio starting at the end of this chapter. Sure, they get better, but...lol. I'm of the opinion that it's already too late now, so we **have** to see it through. Somehow, I think you'll all agree._

* * *

><p>Not long after finally getting home, Nathan picked up the phone and dialed the number for the hospital that served the greater East Millinocket area. Duke had said that Lucy had killed his father there, so he wondered if she'd stayed there after that. Until he himself heard Simon call Lucy Audrey's mother, he hadn't really been convinced one way or the other about Duke's reincarnation theory, but now...<p>

"Hi, this is chief Wuornos from the Haven Maine police department. I was hoping to ask someone in records a few questions pertaining to a case. Sure, I'll hold." To his disgust the song Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad blasted in his ear until he had the wherewithal to pull the phone away.

He stayed on hold halfway through Every Breath You Take before the record clerk asked how he could help. "Hi, I was hoping you could tell me if there had been any expectant mothers who died delivering baby girls in your hospital in 1984?"

He went back on hold for another ten minutes, and by the end found himself wanting to hunt down whoever wrote Muskrat Love and/or Wildfire and shoot them. "Just one? Could you fax me a copy of the baby's birth certificate? Great. Thank you very much."

The fax arrived a few minutes later, probably the first one he'd gotten in eighteen months, and when it did all he could do was stare at it.

Eventually he broke out of his trance and picked his phone back up. "Audrey. Can you and Duke have breakfast with me tomorrow? We need to talk. There's this place in Old Town with good crepes. Okay, I'll swing by your place first at eight, and we'll grab Duke on the way. See you then," he concluded.

Nathan knew that she was with Duke as they spoke, but she hadn't corrected the assumption that they wouldn't still be together at eight in the morning. Though Nathan realized that the couple spent many nights together, that often didn't extend beyond earliest morning considering how often he'd found her alone when he'd had occasion to pick her up. He no longer had it in him to wonder if it was due to commitment issues or Duke's early-bird piracy activities.

He'd barely hung up the phone before it complained at him, letting him know that he had gotten an incoming call himself. The number looked familiar, but it took a moment before he realized that it was Jess's. Her voice sounded breathless and half panicky. "Nathan? When you get this message could you **please** come over as soon as you can?"

Nathan decided not to waste time calling her back. The fact that Jess had asked him to come over was concerning. An SOS wasn't something she would have decided to do very lightly, not after the bumps in the road their relationship had endured before their recent turn for the better.

* * *

><p>When he'd helped her with repair the insulation, he'd noticed that the house looked much the same as it had before Jess had moved to Canada. Nathan wondered what the renters had thought when they'd been asked to find new quarters. At least they'd only been renting on a monthly basis, so they probably hadn't felt as put out as someone with a broken yearly lease would have.<p>

Jess looked terrified when she opened the door. Before he could even say 'hi' she threw her arms around his neck, muttering "thank God" into his neck. Not sure what else to do, his slid his arms around her, and hugged her back. Even through their clothes he could feel how hard her heart was beating, and that alarmed him.

"Jess, what's wrong?" he asked after a minute, pulling away slightly so he could see her pale face.

"Oh, God, Nathan...Maybe I am a witch after all."

His brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

She dropped her arms, and took a shaky step backwards. "I've insisted almost all my life that I'm not troubled, but they kept appearing to me all day..."

"Who did?" Nathan asked, already predicting her answer.

"Ghosts," she whispered. "People here in town I couldn't help before I left, a couple who died after too. And they all said such terrible things to me...if that doesn't mean I'm troubled, a witch performing some sort of death magic without even meaning to, I don't know what does."

"Jess," Nathan said, shaking his head. "You're not troubled. Or if you are, the ghosts have nothing to do with it."

"'The' ghosts?" she repeated.

"That's what Audrey and I dealt with all day. A troubled person who dug graves brought back people he buried, without ever knowing he was doing it. But they're gone now. Right? You haven't seen any ghosts in the past hour and a half, have you?"

"No." Jess looked weak with relief. Afraid that her knees would actually let go on her, Nathan wrapped his arms around her again, and thought about her failed attempts at fishing during the wendigo case. "They're really gone?"

"They're really gone," he assured her. "There was an accident, and the man who brought the ghosts back died. They faded out when he did. They won't be back." Nathan thought about explaining Simon Crocker's bizarre assertion that the curse would now be as dead as the man who'd borne it, but it seemed like the wrong thing to say just then, so he held his tongue.

"Oh. Then I guess the message I promised to give you isn't going to do any good now. Not that that's a bad thing," she said as she stepped out of the circle of his arms. She seemed steadier, so he reluctantly let her go.

"What message?"

"The doctor here who died? What was her name?"

"Eleanor Carr," Nathan supplied.

"Eleanor, yes that's it. I didn't know she'd died until she showed up here today. She made me promise to tell you that your father was looking for you, and that he was up to no good." Jess looked puzzled. "That didn't sound right to me, because I thought he was a decent man, trespassing on my property notwithstanding-"

"She probably didn't mean the chief," Nathan said quietly, wondering yet again how many people had known more about his past than he did. "He was my father in every way that counted, but he wasn't my biological father."

Her eyes widened, shocked. "How long have you known?"

"Since the day both he and my biological father died. Just before he died, the chief admitted that a man named Max Hansen was my 'real' father. A few weeks after he died, I found my adoption papers with his and my mother's marriage license. They married when I was two, which is why I remember nothing before then, and he formally adopted me a few years later without either of them ever having mentioned it. Until the day he died, I never knew..." He trailed off when his throat tightened.

"Nathan," Jess said softly. When he looked up her eyes were filled with sympathy. "I'm so sorry."

"Why?" he asked roughly. "It doesn't change anything. After I lost my mom, he took care of me like his own. He could be tough on me but he was a good father." Better than Max would have been, and Nathan didn't have any regrets that Kyle had died before Max figured out where he was.

"I know he was a good father," Jess replied.

"How?"

Jess shrugged. "The way you talk about him, and the look on your face when you do."

"Okay."

"Did you get to see him today?" Jess studied his face as she waited for a reply.

Fresh grief welled up in him, catching him off guard. "Yeah. I forgot how much I missed him until today. I just wish I'd had more time with him."

"Oh, Nathan..." She sighed. "I should have told you...when I was in Canada I missed you so."

"Did you?" he asked.

"So much. You don't know how many times I thought about coming back...because of you. I was right about your father, he was a good man. And so are you," she told him, eyes full of sincerity and something else he couldn't quite identify.

He didn't resist when she hugged him tightly, but it struck him as slightly funny that she'd called him for comfort, and he was now the one being comforted. It was the sort of give and take he'd grown unused to since his trouble came back.

But he could make up for the lost time now, he thought, not hesitating to kiss her when he finally realized that her aims were to seduce as well as comfort him. "I missed you too," he murmured, meaning it even more than he'd been aware of it.

Jess kissed him back encouragingly, and in a flash of clarity he realized that if he wanted to, he could pick things back up from where they'd left them the night Audrey had dragged him from Jess's side when the shadow attacked her and the Teagues at the station. And this time he'd feel everything, every inch of her skin against his own. The question was, did he want to? From the way she responded to his touches he knew she did, but did he?

She took the question from his complete control as he felt himself spring to readiness when her hand reached for the zipper of his jeans. "Are you sure you want to take things this far?" he asked unsteadily. Though things had progressed between them as of late, they hadn't made any attempt to redefine their relationship, or to discuss the future of it.

When she nodded, he pushed her hand gently away, and looked her in the eyes. "This time you're going to stay?" he asked gruffly, thinking about how into her he'd been before she'd fled Haven. His body was doing everything it could to remind him of then, but he had to know that she wasn't going to run away again if things got hard before he was willing to go further. He hadn't quite managed to offer her his whole heart again, but he wanted to.

"I'm not going anywhere, not as long as you want me here," she said simply. "Trying to escape from my problems didn't get me anything. It just lost me you. That's not something I want to ever happen again."

He thought that's what he'd been waiting to hear all along.

Jess held out her hand, and he took it, letting himself be led to her bedroom. He'd missed having a woman wanting him back like that, but until then he hadn't know just how much.

* * *

><p>The Next Morning<p>

"Wake up, Duke," a voice insisted.

He lifted his eyelids a crack and saw Audrey looking down at him. Her hair was mussed in an adorable way, and all she was wearing was one of his tee shirts, but that didn't strike him as adorable at all. Delectable, yes, but not adorable. Glancing past her, he saw that the clock said it was only six-fifteen.

"Why do we have to be awake? I thought you said Nathan wanted us at eight." Duke propped himself up on an elbow. "And I have to tell you, the suggestion of going for crepes is a surprise. He's usually the type to almost literally shove pancakes down your throat."

"I need to go home and change before he gets there."

"First, is there a reason we have to go through the charade of looking like we're not sleeping together by pretending you didn't spend the night? And second, it's 6:15. Just what sort of traffic are you expecting to encounter this morning, Officer Parker?"

"First, I have no clean clothes here to change into-" she pointed out: she was already wearing the change of clothes she'd brought with her before the ghosts hit the fan.

"You do look good in my shirt, though," Duke interjected.

"And second." Her hand reached under the sheet, making him jump a little when she touched his belly. "All good scientific research is based on multiple trials-"

"Twice is multiple trials," he muttered as her wandering hand skimmed lower before she disappointed him by sitting up straighter. "But more would probably be better."

"Definitely," Audrey agreed, throwing his tee shirt back to him a moment later.

By the time Audrey left, they both agreed that his theory was scientifically sound.

* * *

><p>The Grey Gull<p>

When Audrey got home she immediately realized that Duke had gotten into her Netflix account again, because there were two red envelopes waiting for her in the mailbox and she hadn't had anything in her queue. She opened them enough to peek in at the titles, and found herself nonplused: one was **Ever After**, the other **In the Mouth of Madness**.

"What was he after here, getting me in a romantic mood or scaring the crap out of me?" she asked the room at large. None of her possessions answered.

Her hair was still wet from the shower she'd taken at Duke's, so she just stripped off her clothes and picked fresh ones out of her bureau. It probably would have made more sense to shower at home given she'd put the clothes she'd worn the day before on to leave, but she had decided that twenty minutes in stale clothes wouldn't contaminate her too much and enjoyed the company in his shower. He claimed that the boiler was small, so that's why it was best to bathe together, but he didn't make a convincing practical argument.

After she dressed and blow dried her hair she killed time waiting for Nathan by reading some of the e-mail she went through too infrequently. If she'd known people from her past, really known them, it might have been a pleasant task with notes to read from far-away friends, but most of her online correspondence came from businesses desperate to separate her from her money. Maybe she should e-mail Lucy Ripley and ask her if she played the piano...

At quarter of a knock on the door saved her from wondering if she should just delete everything, or actually go through her in-box and see if there was anything worth keeping. Smiling to herself over being spared the monotony of such a task, she began to speak before she opened the door. "Oh good, Nathan, you're early."

As she pulled the door open, she only had time to note it wasn't Nathan after all before wires sprayed at her, and electricity knocked her off her feet. Her head hit the rug with a thump, and she didn't hear her apartment being searched nor feel it when her attacker picked her up a few minutes later, and carried her to a running vehicle.

* * *

><p>Morning found Nathan cheerful. He'd left Jess's house late the night before, and had asked her if she wanted to join them for breakfast, but she'd sensed that they were planning an important powwow and declined, suggesting that the two of them have dinner instead. He agreed, and just like that he had plans for the second night in a row.<p>

Part of him wanted to tell Audrey about his evening immediately, but the rest cautioned him that some of that desire was born of wanting to fling his happiness in her face...which after a little consideration struck him as faintly ridiculous because she'd clearly been hoping that the two of them would get together. In the end he decided to keep his secret for the time being. He knew, and that was enough, for now. Duke and Audrey had taken weeks to finally admit to seeing each other, so they couldn't really judge him for keeping his relationship with Jess private.

He arrived at the Gull promptly at eight, and immediately noticed that the door to Audrey's apartment yawned open. Nathan wasn't alarmed, not at first, because she could just have been trying to get some air into the place after it had been shut up for over twenty-four hours. "Parker?" he called, expecting a response. There was none.

It was only when he stepped inside and saw an overturned chair, and other signs of disturbance that he pulled his gun.

There on the floor, amongst broken glass, he spotted an object he was all too familiar with, and picked it up with a sinking feeling. He should have known that the ghost had been around long enough to poison his son. All he could do was hope that his own blindness to that reality hadn't cost his best friend her life.

Almost running down the stairs, Nathan rushed into the restaurant and startled the staff and breakfast patrons. He demanded to see Duke, only to be informed that it wasn't one of the days he'd scheduled himself to work, which he should have realized considering their breakfast plans. Pushing past people, he made his way outside, and quickly drove away.

* * *

><p>After Audrey had left, Duke found himself sitting at his table, bored enough to work on a crossword puzzle. Time slowly ticked towards eight, and it came as a relief when footsteps heavier than Audrey's announced Nathan's arrival.<p>

"Hey, Nathan," he called, not looking up from the clue for 18 down. "Crepes, really? Nice to see you branching out a little bit."

He was just about to ask him if Audrey had decided to wait in his truck when he saw Nathan's expression. It didn't look like someone happy to be going to a breakfast place in Old Town. Instead he looked livid.

_What the hell?_ Duke wondered, looking around to see if the sight of one of Audrey's accidentally left behind underthings had set Nathan off. He didn't see anything, though.

"Where is she?" Nathan growled.

Duke stood up. He almost asked who, but it was too obvious. "What do you mean 'where is she'? You were supposed to pick her up before coming here, remember?"

"I know that. She's not there, and her place is trashed. What did you do with her?"

"Audrey's missing?" Duke asked, suddenly worried. "She was fine when she left an hour ago."

"Was she?" Nathan asked flatly.

"Nathan, I swear I didn't do anything to her," he protested, wondering why he had to. They should be talking about where to look for Audrey if she was really missing, not throwing accusations at each other.

"You were in her apartment."

"So? I'm in her apartment even more often than she's on this boat." He made a small encompassing gesture with his hand. "Believe it or not, she doesn't exactly find this place glamorous. Good taste in men, bad taste in boats."

"Today!" Nathan roared. "You were in her apartment today!"

Confused, Duke began to trip over his own tongue. "No. No, I. I wasn't."

Still shooting him looks to kill, Nathan held up something that Duke didn't know he had. His missing whistle. Nathan's expression made him think that it was the same look he'd get if he found a piece of evidence connecting someone to a murder case.

Backing away, Duke said, "Now think. Why would I of all people hurt Audrey?"

"That's what I've been asking myself since I found this," Nathan said darkly, tossing the whistle to the floor. "She told me that you changed, and you know what? Now I believe her. You've become a better actor, and convinced her that you're harmless. But I don't believe that Duke. You've got five seconds to tell me where she is."

Nathan pulled his gun out of his holster, and edged towards him. He began counting, reminding Duke uncomfortably of his father on a bender.

It felt like a nightmare. After two years of seeing Nathan's fire damped down, he never expected to be on the receiving end when something finally reignited it. "Nathan, if I'd done something to her, I would have been waiting for you there," he pointed out, trying to reason with him.

Before he could add anything to his defense, Nathan rushed at him, and he found himself being flung to the floor. The time for reason was probably already past, but he threw his hands up defensively anyway. "Nathan don't," he begged, hoping to distract him while he reached for the gun he'd taped under the table. Nathan ignored him, counting.

It was only as Duke looked up at him that he noticed that there was a tattoo on Nathan's arm. The tattoo he had nightmares about. Blurting out "you got a tattoo?" seemed like a stupid move, so he said nothing, and just concentrated on freeing the gun from its makeshift holder. _What if __**this**__ tattoo is what Vanessa saw_? he found himself wondering in a panic. Did Nathan really have it in him to pull the trigger if he truly thought he'd done something to Audrey? _Maybe_.

"I'm done counting," Nathan told him coldly.

Duke's fingers closed on the hidden gun, but he hadn't gotten as far as even attempting to aim when Nathan realized what he had and snatched at it. They struggled with each other for possession for almost half a minute, but the struggle stopped abruptly when there was a loud and unexpected bang. For a fraction of a second Duke was so confused that he couldn't even begin to figure out where the noise had come from.

At least not until he looked up. Nathan's own gun fell from his fingers as he pressed his hand to his belly. He gave Duke a look of disbelief and pitched forward. Before he could hit the floor, Duke caught him.

There was a horrible amount of blood already spreading across the fabric of Nathan's blue shirt, and it scared the hell out of Duke. "Nathan?" he asked shakily, as if Nathan could tell him something useful.

Trying not to hurt him worse, Duke lowered him to the floor and grabbed a shirt out of his laundry basket nearby. Part of him was glad that the basket had been full of clean clothes, but the rest of him was much more concerned about keeping Nathan alive.

"When someone's shot, you're supposed to apply pressure," he babbled, pressing the shirt hard to the finger-sized hole in Nathan's belly. Nathan responded by going even paler than he had before. "If I didn't know better, I'd swear that you could feel this."

"I can," Nathan groaned.

Duke blinked in disbelief. "What?"

"It hurts."

"That's..." Duke spotted his phone on the table, and made a swipe at it while still trying to hold the shirt over the wound with his other hand. After two attempts he got it and dialed nine-one-one. "I need an ambulance. There's been an accidental discharge of a firearm, and a man's been shot..." he proceeded to tell the dispatcher exactly where his boat was docked. "They're on their way, Nathan. How come you can feel this?"

It took a moment before Nathan responded. "That fight in the police station," he said, only to be interrupted by a sharp cough. "You punched me, split my lip. I felt it."

"Just the punch, or everything since?" Duke asked.

"Everything."

"Wow. Does Audrey know?" He didn't really care just then, he just had the vague idea that they'd both be better off if he kept Nathan talking. As soon as he mentioned Audrey, though, his blood went cold. She really had to be missing if Nathan was acting like he had over the past few minutes.

"Duke." Nathan looked greenish when Duke looked down at him. "You really don't know where she is."

"I really don't."

"Shit."

"But I'll find her," Duke quickly promised while peeling off the now saturated shirt and replacing it with a tank top Audrey had left behind.

"You were right," Nathan gasped. "I called East Mil, East Millin-"

"East Millinocket?" Duke asked. "Where my father found Lucy?"

"Yeah. I called the hospital last night, asking if there were any women who died giving birth to baby girls...around the time Audrey would have to have been born, if she...There was one mother."

"You think it was Lucy?"

"Pocket," Nathan mumbled, a lot having been taken out of him already by trying to talk.

"Which pocket?" Duke asked, deeply confused. Eventually he realized that there was something sticking out of the pocket of Nathan's shirt and it was fortunately not yet covered in blood. "You want me to take that out of your pocket?"

Nathan nodded weakly, and Duke plucked the folded piece of paper out, still putting pressure on Nathan's injury with his other hand as he did so. He shook the paper to unfold it, not daring to use both hands for the task.

It was a copy of a birth certificate. Normally his eyes would have been drawn to the words on the page, looking for names, but they caught the same thing Nathan's had the night before: one of the baby's footprints was interrupted by a jagged slash, as if the newborn's sole was already injured at birth.

A siren sound outside bringing an end to their conversation. It was just as well, Duke decided as he clutched the photocopied birth certificate, because Nathan had chosen that moment to finally lose consciousness.

* * *

><p>Duke tried to stay out of the way as the paramedics worked on Nathan, but he got antsy. "Is he going to be okay?"<p>

"We've got to get him in right away," one of the paramedics snapped, and Duke shot him a worried look.

"Right, I'll step over here..." He watched anxiously as they put Nathan on a backboard. "Take good care of him. A lot of people are depending on him."

_God_, Duke thought just then, _where will we be if he's not okay? Not just me and Audrey, but everyone in Haven? And where is Audrey?_

He looked at Nathan and wondered what he was supposed to do: go with him to the hospital, or immediately begin looking for his missing girlfriend. How was he supposed to decide something like that?

* * *

><p><em>an: I know that some of you readers are writers too. You know what I think would be awesome? Besides more Audrey/Duke fics, that is. If someone began writing a new crossover fic this spring-summer. Or fics. As you probably know, if you read author's notes you do, Faerax and I have an X-Files/Haven crossover, and we're planning a second in that same series for after this is over. But it'd be neat if **you** wrote a crossover too. How about a Haven/Fringe crossover? Boston and Haven are only a train ride apart. The Secret Circle and Once Upon a Time take place in Maine. Or characters from away could travel to Haven. Lots of possibilities, and I'd love more to read... _


	28. Waiting For the News

The paramedics were consummate professionals, Duke had to hand them that. Quicker and more efficiently than he ever dreamed, they got Nathan off his boat and loaded into the back of an ambulance with the name of the private company that served the greater Haven area. For no reason at all Duke found himself thinking about an article that said that the issue of whether or not Haven should begin a tax-supported ambulance service would be on the next ballot sprang to mind.

After agonizing about it for another couple of minutes, he jumped into his truck and followed the ambulance. As much as he was worried about Audrey, her fate was an unknown and he knew what was horrifically wrong with Nathan. Not to mention he believed that she'd be furious if he took off without finding out if Nathan was going to pull through.

The paramedics were unloading Nathan as he parked, so it didn't take him much effort to hop out of his truck and catch up. To his annoyance, an arm shot out and blocked his way when he tried to enter the room they rolled Nathan into. "You can't go in there," he was informed in no uncertain terms.

Duke looked past the owner of the arm, watching as Nathan was moved from stretcher to where they wanted him. One nurse began to cut off Nathan's shirt. Eyes flashing, Duke turned on the person blocking his way. "Why n-"

"We can't have anyone in there getting in the way. It's hospital policy to keep friends and family from the examine rooms when there's been a serious injury."

_So much for planning to insist we're brothers_ _so I can stay_, Duke thought ruefully. It had been his hastily concocted plan on the drive over. Standing there then he realized that no one at the local hospital would have bought his story anyway.

"You can stand here at the window," the nurse said, taking pity on him. "Just don't block the doorway."

"Thanks," Duke said bitterly. It wasn't the young man's fault, but he was too pissed off to be polite.

Less than an hour later the door swung open so fast that Duke was glad that the nurse had told him not to block it. A doctor looked around for a second before spotting him. "We're bringing your friend up to the OR," he explained impatiently. "There might be a bowel perforation."

"Will he be okay?" Duke asked insistently, hoping his tone conveyed the fact that he didn't want a run around.

"We won't know until we open him up." That said, the doctor walked off, following the procession to the elevator.

Within a minute Duke was left standing there alone at a loss about what to do. Every minute that ticked by made him more worried about Audrey, but he didn't feel like he could leave before knowing if Nathan would live. Once he decided to stay he was still confused - no one had told him if he should stay there or go up and look for a waiting room nearer the operating room.

Sighing, he slowly made his way back to the front desk, hoping to find someone who could help him.

* * *

><p>He was on his third cup of coffee, and was beginning to feel as jittery and strung-out as Audrey had taken to insisting lately that she wasn't when he heard a voice behind him. "Duke?"<p>

Turning around, he noticed a tall woman with bewitching eyes giving him a curious look. "Jess?" he asked, wishing suddenly that he'd taken more of an interest in her. As it was, they were definitely still in friend-of-a-friend territory.

"I thought you knew I worked here."

"I did. I do," he said vaguely. Of course he knew she worked at the hospital, though he didn't know doing what other than being sure that she was neither a doctor or nurse. For some reason the thought of running into her hadn't occurred to him, though.

Jess had begun to look concerned. "Did something happen to-"

He cut her off before she made the logical guess that it was Audrey. At that moment he couldn't bear to think about other people knowing that she was missing in action. "It's Nathan. They just brought him in to surgery."

Jess looked horror-stricken. "What happened? He was fine last night!"

"You saw him last night?" Duke asked, confused.

"I saw all of him last night," Jess blurted out before looking mortified. "Um...I mean..."

"So you and Nathan...?" he trailed off, watching her cheeks flush a rosy color.

Jess seemed to give up in defeat. "We were together. What happened to him?"

Duke's resolve to keep the whole situation mum collapsed upon itself when he realized that she had more invested in Nathan's well-being than he would have thought. "Can we step outside to continue our discussion?"

Her expression suggested that she was both confused and annoyed, but she obligingly followed him through the doors. Once they were standing well away from the building, Duke frowned at her. "There's a lot I don't understand about what happened this morning, but I'm going to trust you with the highlights. I can trust you, can't I?" Duke asked roughly. "It could cost Audrey her life if you go to the police." What police there were left, he found himself thinking. The only two he considered worth a damn were out of action.

"God, Duke!" she exclaimed in disbelief. "I promise that whatever you have to say stays between us."

"All right. Nathan was supposed to pick Audrey and me up for breakfast-"

"He told me that," Jess said impatiently.

"But when he got to my boat, he began to accuse me of having done something to Audrey. It finally came out that her place has been ransacked, and she's missing. Then he accused me of doing something to her. Jess, he pulled a gun on me. I only grabbed my own in self-defense because I was seriously worried that he'd shoot me like he was threatening to. I thought things were better between him and me lately, but I really thought he was going to kill me," Duke concluded painfully.

"So you...shot him first?" Jess's voice was quiet, not accusing. It made him feel worse than being screamed at would have.

"No! I don't know. When I pulled my gun out, he tried to wrestle it away from me. And it went off. It's not like either of us meant for it to happen," he said miserably.

"Is he going to be okay?" she demanded to know.

"I think so. They said they should be able to tell in a few hours." Duke threw his hands up in the air. "In a few hours. God only know what'll happen to Audrey while I'm stuck here waiting to find out if he'll be okay."

"You should go now," Jess said seriously. "Just leave."

"What?"

"Not only do you need to see if you can find her, you don't want the doctors to put two and two together and tell the police that they suspect you of shooting him. They're far more likely to go to the authorities than I am, Duke. You can't find her if they arrest you."

"But Nathan-"

"I'll stay and call you if there's any news."

"Really?" Duke asked, not understanding why she was extending the offer. Staying with Nathan was easy to understand, but why she'd keep him in the loop wasn't; he was, after all, at least half responsible for the man she'd apparently just become involved with ending up in the hospital after being critically wounded. Jess held out her hand for his phone and began to punch his number into her own phone. "You'd do that? You don't know me, don't owe me anything," he concluded.

"Audrey's my friend, too. If Nathan can't go after her, you're her best shot. I know that. I don't want you so worried about Nathan that it keeps you from finding her as quickly as possible."

"Your confidence in me would be a lot more reassuring if I had any idea where to look," Duke said with a sigh.

Jess patted his arm before handing him back his phone. "You'll figure it out."

"Thanks." Duke offered her a wan smile. "And thanks for entertaining Nathan last night. You might be the only reason he was in a good enough mood to make accusations rather than shooting first and asking questions later."

"Let's never talk about that again, okay?" Jess asked, blushing again.

"You've got it...But seriously, I've never seen him so angry." Duke shook his head. "When I saw his new tattoo I worried that he was going to be the guy with that tattoo who was going to kill me." That it still might be someone else was something he didn't have time to worry about just then.

"What tattoo?" Jess asked blankly.

He stared at her and had to clamp down in his tongue before he could ask her if they had spent the night together in the dark. "Um…"

She was too preoccupied to dwell on what must have seemed like a bizarre remark to her.

"You better get going."

"Yeah."

* * *

><p>The smuggler knew he couldn't go back to the Gull or Cape Rouge because both would be crawling for cops soon, if they weren't already. Somewhere in the back of his mind he was sure that the hospital was required to report all gunshot wounds to the police. Although, his mind informed him irreverently, odds are at least one detective knew he was shot already.<p>

Still, the rivalry between the two men was by no means quiet, and one of the reasons Duke had left Maine was because news flies faster in a Small New England town than anywhere else. If more stars moved into New England, TMZ could just set up a listening post at the local watering hole and know who was pregnant with whose kid five minutes before the expectant mother knew.

It wasn't like Maine had huge cities in which to lose himself in, either. Bangor or Portland would have been his best hopes. There weren't enough tourists to pass unnoticed in any of the small tourist towns like Bar Harbor or Ogunquit. The other annoying thing about small New England towns is that outsiders were generally shunned until their families were in the ground for a few generations. Then you might be accepted, but even then, it wasn't likely.

Duke had carefully considered his options about where he could lay low until things cooled off. The coastal towns were out. Anyone who knew him would automatically assume he'd take to the sea. If he could get out into international waters, he could avoid most of the legal entanglements. However, if Audrey were in international waters, she'd likely be down with the fishes. No, who ever took her likely took her with a plan and with an intent to frame Duke for the abduction. Someone who knew him well enough to know what piece of jewelry was distinctive to him.

Duke hadn't put the whistle on after he took it from Nathan's disturbingly slack hand earlier. There was blood on it, and while he was pretty sure it was Nathan's...he couldn't bear the thought of it being Audrey's. After he had left the hospital, fled, really, he had stuffed it in his shirt pocket. Then he started driving.

Most cops would look for people in their regular haunts, known locations. They'd look for him out on the marina, and likely in Bangor, Portland, Portsmouth, Dover, and Mystic. Any of those you could get to in a day's driving, and he was known to frequent all of them either as an adult or as a teenager.

Duke had a reputation of being a city boy trapped in a small town, and he'd carefully cultivated that aura. He knew he might have to run from the law some day, although it came rather sooner than he had hoped. Still, you didn't grow up being Simon Crocker's boy without more than a few esoteric and non-esoteric survival skills.

Duke clutched and kneaded the steering wheel of the old Land Rover. When they were teenagers, and not quite hating each other for a spell, Nathan and Duke had both gone hunting with the chief. Some type of Reclaim the Troubled Youth of Haven mission. The running joke was that Duke could not hit the broad side of a barn with a bucket of paint, because he never hit any of the targets that had been set up. Even this many years later, Nathan had always been there in the few cases where Duke had drawn a weapon on someone, ensuring that Duke didn't make the shot.

Simon Crocker's son learned camouflage early, and learned the lesson well.

Consequently, the one thing he was sure about was that many people would waste time looking for him in places he didn't plan to be. Duke needed information. He wanted to get down to Boston, find Agent Howard or Audrey II and ask them for help, but he would likely be arrested on sight. Not to mention he had no idea if the brunette Audrey had ever recovered any more of her memory than those of her fiancé.

He needed to hole up somewhere and get his head together. If he went off half cocked, it could mean Audrey's life. He couldn't give into his instincts, to find her no matter what the cost, when he had no clue where she was or what condition she was in. He needed a plan.

The heavy weight of the whistle pulled down his shirt on one side of his chest. He briefly re-lived a phantom memory of Audrey tugging gently on that same pocket, which led to her hand on his bare chest above his heart. Gods, what would he do without her?

The Land Rover lurched abruptly and the front left tire decided of its own volition to try off roading. Duke cursed and jerked the wheel, ensuring the old truck stayed on the road.

Damn Audrey anyway. Why didn't she…?

_No, please God, Buddha, Anyone. Keep her safe until I can find her._

Duke knew it was going to look bad for him - Audrey missing and Nathan shot on his boat. He would just have to hope that Audrey would be able to settle matters with the police when he found her.

He refused to believe he would find her in a state other than healthy, whole, and irritated that someone had taken her without her consent.

Duke continued mindlessly following roads out of Haven and the surrounding communities. He dimly remembered passing through Derry, heading ever deeper into the no-man's land between coastal Maine's fishing villages and the ski resorts in the north west of the state. There were miles and miles of empty forest and towns on the roads became fewer and fewer.

Eventually Duke pulled into a small bar with an attached convenience store and gas station. He was amused briefly by the fact the bar had 10 spaces in front of it to park, but the gas station only had two pumps at the service island, and given the position of the convenience store section, it had no parking whatsoever. Only in Maine…

Duke walked into the convenience store, needing to get one of the cheap pre-paid phones, so invitingly advertised in the shop's window. He paid in cash for gas and the phone. He headed back outside to fill up the truck and program Jess's number into the new phone. He'd taken the chance that Jess wouldn't be calling him immediately and had turned off his phone and removed the battery to prevent tracking by GPS. He then programmed Jess's number into the new phone, and sent her a quick text asking her to call him at the number instead.

Duke pulled the old truck into one of the few parking spaces in front of the bar. As he walked through the doors, he noticed it was poorly light by the fading afternoon light. The grizzled sixty-something man tending bar didn't even look up when he walked in. The two men at the end of the bar gave him a cursory glance before reading something out of a beaten up journal. Even from twenty feet away Duke could see that it was filled with newspaper clippings.

Duke took a seat at the other end of the bar. The bar maid, if she could be called such, sauntered over. A woman about forty-five years of age, wearing more makeup than an entire Kabuki Theater cast told him the specials, none of which sounded good, but Duke ordered something anyway just to keep up appearances of a road weary traveler.

The phone rang abruptly and Duke jumped, then fumbled it out of his pocket. He answered it without looking at the number, and the person at the other end of the line demanded to know where Eileen St. Germain was because she was more than six months late paying for her Water bill. Duke tried to explain that he had no clue who Eileen was, and that he had just bought the phone. The bill collector demanded to speak with Eileen. After five minutes of getting nowhere, Duke hung up on the collector.

Fifteen minutes later as Duke considered the sodden mass of grease he had been served, Eileen got another call, this time to collect on her unpaid electrical bill. He decided Eileen was a deadbeat, and wondered how many other times he'd be called for her bills while waiting to hear from Jess.

The barmaid walked over to the jukebox in the corner. A country western song started and she warbled along with it. Duke grinned as inspiration struck. He joined her for a rousing chorus of "I've got Friend in Low Places!" before paying his tab and taking to the road again. Eileen's incoming calls would have to wait a bit longer. He had some calls to make.

The only thing faster than news in a small New England town was the news network of criminals and thieves. One of his contacts must have seen something. He knew that going back to the Gull so he could retrieve the numbers for his fellow scapegraces was risky, but he just couldn't see another way to figure out where Audrey was.

Just days earlier he told her that he liked being with a girl who'd risk everything to do the right thing, and he was now having to make that decision too.

* * *

><p>Lilian O'Keefe was over a hundred years old. She'd come to the US from Ireland, and had lived in most of the New England states before settling down in Maine. Now she was a permanent resident in the hospice wing of Haven Hospital. Jess came to her room every other day to read to her.<p>

Jess and Lilian had met when Jess was working with Lilian's family regarding Lilian's wishes. The old woman had begun to show the early stages of dementia, and her family, now consisting of one local granddaughter with two children, had concerns about Lilian living alone at her advanced age. Once the granddaughter had left, Lilian told Jess she had deliberately failed the HHS department representative's test. She couldn't stand the thought of living with her granddaughter, who had planned on moving into farm house Lilian and her husband had built.

Jess had always liked Lilian. The woman had been a member of the red-hat society before there was the poem about wearing purple. Her favorite ballad was about two young lovers killed by the girl's jealous father. In the last line as the girl lies dying, his daughter tells him that the two will now lie in each other's embrace for ever. When she wasn't singing that, she was singing about Sir Eglamore. Her granddaughter was absolutely scandalized when Lilian announced loudly it was about having sex with an ugly woman. After that, the granddaughter didn't visit nearly as often.

Lilian had also told Jess that she preferred her two great-grandkids to her granddaughter and her husband. At least they were honest in their emotions and reactions to the old woman. They were terrified of the old crone, as Lilian referred to herself these days. It was better than the sense of duty and obligation the other two put forth. Lilian knew they didn't want to be there, and didn't have much use for a dying old woman. The kids were too young to hide their emotions and the hospital, the odd machines, and their great-grandmother's sudden physical decline caused by the cancer that had introduced Jess to Lilian in the first place.

She wasn't due to visit Lilian until tomorrow, but Nathan was still in surgery. It had only been a couple of hours, and it could be several more, she knew, until she heard about Nathan's condition. If she sat in the waiting room for that long, she'd go mad. So she asked the charge nurse to call her if there was word on Nathan, and then walked to the Hospice wing to read to Lilian.

The old woman was sitting, wrapped up warmly in an armchair by a window overlooking the sea. She sat up when she saw Jess. "Oh, don't tell me she won't sign the paperwork, Jessy."

Jess looked up, startled. "No, your granddaughter agreed to sign the paperwork next Monday. She wanted to give you time to reconsider your options before making a final decision on your treatment."

Lilian snorted inside her cocoon of blankets. "I'm dying. I want to die with dignity. Had I known flunking that damn test would have prevented me from signing the DNR and preventing my own treatment, I never would have done it."

Jess nodded. Her job at the hospital sometimes required her to act as an intermediary between elderly patients and their immediate family. Sometimes a younger generation just didn't want to let go of their elder generation, who were ready to move on. Her background in grief counseling often helped both sides come to terms with an elder's death. Usually it was a child and a parent, but in Lilian's case her own children pre-deceased her, as had her husband. Lilian, good catholic that she was, had made no bones about being ready to join them. Lilian's granddaughter felt guilty, and burdened, by the old woman's care. Her own upbringing made her believe that she should ensure every option to prolong Lilian's life should be made. It was hard for the two very strong women to see eye to eye.

"I know. Now where did we leave the witch and the vampire?" Jess sat down on the other overstuffed armchair and picked up the book from the sill. She flipped to the beginning of chapter 12, knowing that Lilian would insist that she read to the end of chapter 14 to avoid any chance that they end on chapter 13, or that it would be rounded to chapter 13. Lilian was superstitious. It would certainly chew through a few hours, and maybe there would be some word on Nathan.

The down side of reading about witches who loved vampires was that it made her think of Audrey. Duke had looked haunted, both by shooting Nathan and by the news that Audrey was missing. She wondered if he would find her, and find her safe. She wondered if he would find jail time. She tried to put the images, Nathan or Audrey in various death poses, from her mind.

"My dear, if you want to stop, I'm sure the Good Lord won't fill me with horror and take me in the middle of chapter 12. Even if it rounds to 13," Lilian's voice interrupted what should have been a relatively steamy scene between the witch and the vampire. It jarred Jess from her thoughts.

"What, oh. I'm sorry, Lilian. I'm afraid that I'm a bit occupied. I make poor company today." Jess looked down, and realized she hadn't changed the page in a few minutes after she stopped reading it.

"Tell an old woman your troubles. I'll tell them to my husband and children, and they'll harangue the Almighty until he gives in. Believe me, not even the devil could out stubborn my husband and my firstborn."

The dark haired woman ducked her head. "No, really..." she started.

"Nonsense. You've helped me. Let me help you young lady. I may not be able to do anything but pray, but a good prayer never hurt anyone. My grandmother told me that joy shared is joy doubled and pain shared is pain halved. You've listened to me better than my own kin. Let me do this for you." Lilian fought out of her blankets until she was sitting straight up. Her clear, bright blue eyes pinned Jess to the arm chair.

"Your grandmother was a wise lady," Jess offered.

Lilian nodded. "That she was. Now tell me what's wrong."

Jess grinned ruefully, "You are not going to let this drop, are you?"

Lilian emphatically shook her head. "No. Now what's got you upset girl?"

"Do you know Sheriff Wournos?" the French-Canadian woman asked.

"The cute one or his son?" Lilian asked.

The brunette blushed. She didn't think Sr. Chief Wournos could have been described as "cute" but then, she hadn't been alive nearly as long as her friend. Maybe he had been better looking than Nathan at the same age, but she doubted it. "His son, Nathan. He was shot today. He's over in the East Wing undergoing surgery." Her breath caught as she admitted the truth to herself. "He may not make it. He was shot in the gut."

Lilian gasped. "Oh My!" She quickly drew the sign of the cross on her chest. "What happened to him, Jessy?"

"I'm not quite sure. Duke Crocker said that Nathan went gunning for him and they struggled. During the fight the gun went off." Jess looked down at her hands. She well knew Duke's history as a liar and a thief. For Audrey's sake, she wanted to believe him that he hadn't shot Nathan on purpose, but it wasn't hard to notice the men did not share an easy relationship.

Lilian nodded. "That Crocker boy comes from bad stock. His father was always up to some trouble. Can't imagine his kid is any different. They throw him in jail for it yet?"

Jess shook her head. "No, the paramedics arrived before the cops, and Duke followed them to the hospital. Once they took Nathan into surgery, and Duke found out I was here, he told me what had happened. I don't think he meant to fire at Nathan."

At that moment, an officer knocked on the open door, politely, before entering the room. Jess recognized Patrick Ryan. "I'm sorry to interrupt, ladies. I was hoping to speak with Jess Minion."

Jess stood up. "Yes officer?"

"Folks down in the waiting room said that you spoke with Duke Crocker before he left. Do you happen to know where he may be?" The officer kept his pen poised tensely above a small notepad.

"No sir. He said he was going to look for Audrey Parker." Jess's voice was level and calm.

There was a scribbling sound as the officer took a note. "About what time was that, ma'am?"

Jess thought back about it. "I'm not sure. Maybe 10:00 a.m. or so?"

The officer also noted this information down as well. "Did Mr. Crocker give you any hint at all as to where he was going? What he might have been doing?"

The brunette shook her head. "No. He said that Nathan had been upset that Audrey was missing, and believed Duke had done something to her. Duke told me he didn't know where she was, and was going to try to find her. He didn't say where he was going though, or how he intended to find her."

The radio chirped on the officer's shoulder's waist. Laverne's voice was crackly as she asked "Did you find that no account scumball yet?"

Officer Ryan blushed, and depressed a button. "Not yet, but send Luis over to the Gull to check out Audrey's apartment. Looks like this might turn into a kidnapping and attempted murder."

Laverne's reply wasn't appropriate for police channels, Jess thought.

"Please call the station if you see Mr. Crocker or if you hear from him. We need to take him in for questioning." Officer Ryan handed out a small card with the Haven PD's phone number to Jess, and then left the room.

"Excuse me one moment, Lilian." Jess dug around in her purse until she found her cell phone. She called the charge nurse and had a quick conversation. She sighed in relief when she found out Nathan was still in surgery, and melted back down in the chair.

Lilian snorted. "So that's why you're so upset about the good detective. You're sweet on him. Funny, the Teague boys were in here two, maybe three weeks ago and were sharing gossip while they interviewed me for a profile in the Herald. I got the impression that Nathan was sweet on Audrey." Lilian canted her head.

"He was, but Duke got there first. And I got to Nathan first." For a minute a predatory gleam shone in Jess's eyes. Audrey was her friend, but all was fair in love and war, and she was not letting Nathan go again, no matter how much she liked Audrey.

Lilian rolled her eyes. "You young people treat love like it's a ride on the teacups. You are always whirling around and making things difficult." She looked at Jess and grinned mischievously. "Of course, the teacups always were my favorite ride at the amusement park."

Jess found herself telling Lilian what she knew of the bizarre love square that was going on. The only thing that hadn't happened yet was for Duke to make a pass at her, which, knowing his reputation, really wouldn't have been long in coming if things had not been yanked in other directions.

Over the course of two hours Jess found herself telling the elderly woman about Nathan, and how she could read him like a book. An eye crinkle could be the equivalent of a belly laugh in another man. The way he involved his whole body in smelling coffee. How reassuring the sound of his heartbeat was, and how being in his arms was the best place in the world.

All the while Lilian listened and smiled, making noises in all the right places. She laughed out loud as Jess said tentatively, "I think he may be the love of my life."

"Sounds like it, Jessy. I'll make sure my Keith knows that the Almighty should send Nathan right back down if he should end up at the gates today." Jess turned rose red and muttered something that might have been a thank you.

Strangely enough she felt a little better for the conversation. It made her realize that even though she had made a mistake the last time around, running and not trusting Nathan to protect her, maybe there was time to undo the damage. Certainly Nathan had given her cause to believe it the other night. She realized that while Haven was a magical, terrifying place, it was worth the fear to stay with a man she loved. She wouldn't leave him again. She just hoped he wouldn't leave her.

Jess cleared her throat and fingered the page she'd stopped reading on. There was a long wait yet. Surely the witch and the vampire were due a few more adventures. She began to read again.

* * *

><p><em>an: So...remember how I was working two jobs back in November? Tomorrow night - the 10th, that is - is the first one back at my old job in a while. And my birthday. sigh. So very much not how I wanted to spend my birthday. It'd be really nice to come home to some feedback before I crawl into bed..._

_Faerax could use some cheerleading too - she's working on chapter 31, and I'm not going to be much help filling in the gap between chapter 30 and what'll probably be 34 (I mentioned we write out of order, right?) for the next month when I'm working 8am-9:30pm._


	29. On the Road

The quiet sounds of the sand shifting beneath Duke's feet blended with the wind through the trees and the soothing sound of the water on the rocks. He paused, trying to draw the peacefulness of the scene into his heart before he walked on. He needed all the calm he could draw about himself today. Out over the ocean the first faint light of the dawn was breaking. He needed to move quickly.

Duke hiked down to the Grey Gull, using all the arts of stealth he could muster. The lot was empty and crime scene tape flapped laconically in the wind. The restaurant had no lights on, even though it normally was busy this hour, preparing for the guests that would arrive throughout the day. He'd had no doubt that the police would shut it down so this didn't come as a surprise. A quick look around the parking lot showed it to be empty of cars.

The smuggler darted across the parking lot and to the front door. He moved carefully along the one path he knew none of the surveillance cameras tracked, the path he deliberately engineered after he became owner. Once by the front doors he darted past them, and up the long flight of stairs to Audrey's apartment.

Coming back to the Gull was a calculated risk. With Audrey missing and Nathan out of commission, he knew the local cops would have investigated it thoroughly. He also knew his name would be out on warrants for arrest, and he had to flee Haven. Still, eventually the local police would determine he wasn't in town anymore and start to search wider and wider circles. They would assume he knew that they would be looking for him. They wouldn't suspect, although Nathan would have, that that was the time he would return.

Simon had taught Duke all about hiding. How you could melt into plain sight, and that sometimes, when things had gone as far south as they could, the safest places to hide were places that were already searched. It was somewhat terrifying to know that Simon had been preparing him even then to hide from the authorities. At the time Duke had thought it was just a game of hide and seek with his brothers during one of their infrequent visits. His father had known what terrible affliction he had passed to at least one of his sons, and had taken some effort to ensure that they would be able to carry on his dark legacy without them even suspecting.

Duke walked carefully, keeping to the side of the porch that buttressed the restaurant. He stepped over the board that had a nail that screamed like the dead when it was stepped on. Audrey had been after him for weeks to fix it, never knowing that even as he fixed one board, he left another one loose. He'd enjoyed knowing when she was coming or going when he was working at the Gull.

The door to Audrey's apartment was closed, with more caution and police tape securing it. It looked more foreboding than he recalled it. It was a reminder that Audrey was gone, missing...potentially dead. If she was, Duke promised to rain vengeance down on the heads of those that took her. He had always been "good" while in Haven. Audrey saw him as a cheerful rogue. Nathan knew the truth. Hell, Nathan would probably help him. If he survived. If not, well, Duke had no issues with using Nathan's death to motivate him to even more inventive ways of dealing out justice. He'd learned a lot about violent crimes in his brief time at Shawshank.

The dark-haired man had used his exile on the road to good advantage. Already he had gotten some responses, but none had been definitive. Now he was back at the Gull to go through Audrey's apartment himself to see if he could find something and then to fish his address book out from under the refrigerator in the restaurant. He knew her place better than anyone except Audrey herself. He would be able to determine if anything was out of place, if there was something the officers may have overlooked.

A key appeared in his hands, and he quietly unlocked the door. Behind him, the first gentle arc of the sun rose above the water. Duke knew that he couldn't turn on the lights, but the first shafts of sunlight over the water would shine almost directly into Audrey's apartment. They had woken him up more than once with their fierce light. He had always slept on the eastern side of her bed, to shield her from the morning light because he'd knew from experience that Audrey was not a morning person. He had taken up the eastern side of the bed only after his offer to get her thicker drapes was met with a scatological suggestion on where he could hang them.

"But Audrey, even I am not that big of a dick! I mean, come on! That window's got to be 36 inches. You are making me feel inferior again. Next thing I know you'll have that pottery from the museum in here," he'd replied. He smiled and the memory of the wrestling match that ensued, leaving him pinned on the floor, laughing. Would that she was here to make him submit again.

The door swung easily on the hinges. Duke opened both sides of the French style doors to let in the most light. Wind off the ocean caught his hair and teased it into his eyes, which he brushed aside with annoyance. He stepped cautiously into the room and looked around.

There were signs of a minor struggle. A glass vase had been broken and wilted flowers lay scattered on the floor. Stacked dishes were piled in the sink haphazardly. Curiously, though, the apartment looked mostly intact. Duke made slow progress and found that nothing had been pulled off the walls. Other than the mess at the door, there were no other signs of trouble in the comfortable home.

With every breath he took he could smell Audrey's lingering scent. Her perfume and shampoo. He almost expected her to come around the corner or up the other set of stairs. He went over to the dresser where her small stash of jewelry was. Nothing was missing, not even Lucy Ripley's locket, still held secure in its box. This wasn't just a home invasion. It was directly targeted at Audrey.

Duke sat on the bed. Nothing here really told him what had gone on. Obviously his whistle had been present. Whoever had done this knew him well enough to know his signature pieces of jewelry. The whistle had been a gift from his mother after his father had died, or rather after they had found his remains. The corpse had still been wearing it. His father had used it when he had served on the Tall ships in the quiet days of his youth. When Duke had admired it, Simon had told him it had belonged to his grandfather. The Crockers had always been called to the sea.

Since he'd opened the restaurant, there were several more people that knew him, and that he did frequent enough custom with to recognize the whistle. Still, Duke regularly cycled through jewelry. He had more of it than Audrey did, though he doubted she suspected the real reason for his necklaces - a way to pay for things that would be difficult to trace. Whoever had done this though had managed to steal his whistle off his boat and correctly identify the one piece he would not willingly part with.

It must have been someone who knew him, and knew him well. The list of suspects should have been small and it was. The problem was that it revolved back to Nathan and Audrey. Of all the people in town, they were the only ones close enough to him to get away with it, and obviously the only two that couldn't have done it. Audrey would not have kidnapped herself after all.

Except she could have. Hell, his father had pointed out to him that someone with her lineage had killed both Simon himself and Duke's grandfather. There was some evidence that when Lucy and Sarah came to Haven, regardless of whether they were just Audrey's ancestors or in some way actually her, they had disappeared after becoming mentally unstable. What if Audrey felt that the only way to end the troubles was to see him in prison for the rest of his life? She would protect the troubled no matter what. He knew that about her. Funny how now that he was troubled, that protection didn't necessarily include him. It hadn't included Max Hansen, either, now that he thought about it. What if this had been a trap designed to catch him? Had she even planted the evidence hoping Nathan would be so far off his rocker as to attack and kill him? It wasn't something he wanted to think about but his brain wouldn't let him rule it out prematurely.

A scuff on the floorboard was all the warning Duke got that he wasn't alone, and it wasn't enough. He was crushed under the weight of someone both larger and stronger than he was. One meaty fist curled around his throat and attempted to squeeze it off. Madly Duke scrabbled at his assailant's wrist, finally finding the grip he needed. If only he could keep it up before he went unconscious.

Slowly pressure on the tendons caused the grip to loosen. However his hair was grabbed and his head was bounced ineffectively off the bed. Duke used a long leg to knee his opponent in the groin, and was pleased when a startled gasp and a slackening grip allowed him to wriggle free.

Duke rolled off the bed and hit the floorboards running. He skittered down the stairs that lead to the back of the Gull's kitchens, and grabbed a 12" carving knife out of a knife block. He turned just in time to see a wall of fist aim for his head again. He ducked, and it missed, scattering cutlery. He thought to take advantage of his opponent and rush him with the knife. His leading arm was stopped cold in a strong grip, and he found himself staring at a large cleaver. He threw himself backwards and tried to cause the mystery man to go off balance.

The other man took one step, then yanked Duke forward and brought the knife bearing hand to the counter. The cleaver rose up.

"You've got until this cleaver falls to tell me where Audrey is," the voice was familiar but it took Duke a moment to place it.

"Sasquatch?"

The cleaver began a rapid descent, powered by the ex-ranger's strong back and shoulder muscles. Duke realized he was going to lose his hand. He made one last attempt to pull away, but he may have well have been shackled to his own counter.

The blade stopped just after scoring a thin line on the back of his wrist. Some how Dwight had stopped the blow just before it did damage.

Duke looked up and met the shaggy blond's eyes, gasping. Dwight looked back, a hint of anger in his otherwise impassive face.

"Let's try this again. This time I won't stop. Where is Audrey?" Dwight brought his hand back up, prepared once again to hack off Duke's hand.

"I don't know, Dwight. I swear." Duke thought it might have been seen as a good maneuver to drop the knife held tight in his fist. It clattered dully on the counter. There were more around if he could just get the behemoth to let go.

Dwight's eyes never left Duke's face, even when the knife hit the countertop. He never relaxed his crushing grip on the man's wrist. Whatever he saw in Duke's face though must have reassured him. He put down the cleaver while still maintaining a tight hold on the felon.

"Uh, if you aren't going to maim me, can I have my wrist back?" Duke asked, recognizing how foolish it sounded.

"No." Dwight spun Duke using leverage on the captured limb until the two of them marched up the stairs back to Audrey's apartment. Duke thought of Jet Li movies where the hero would courageously use the stairs to back flip on his opponent. Duke had never done a back-flip in his life. The best he could do was lean back and force Dwight to take his weight. Dwight responded by jerking Duke's wrist up between his shoulder blades and nearly dislocating his arm.

"Nah-uh. I'm a ranger. Do you really think you can get away that easily?" Dwight's breath stirred the hair beside Duke's ear.

"Works for Jet Li and Jackie Chan," Duke replied, sullenly.

"Piece of information for you. The army teaches us how to kill someone in 5 seconds with our bare hands. Now I'm a little rusty, might take me 6 or 7 seconds. Do you really want to find out?"

Duke paused to consider. "Yeah, why haven't you killed me?"

There was the sound of rocks falling, which it took Duke a moment to realize was Dwight laughing. He tried to take advantage of the moment and bolt, but was brought up short, only getting as far as the length of his arm.

"You know, if you insist on holding my hand, Audrey is going to be seriously pissed. She doesn't like to share." He tried once again to get loose, only to realize that the cleaner wasn't going to let him go. However, it was also becoming clear, that after nearly throttling him and the little questioning session with the cleaver, Dwight didn't really intend him any more bodily harm. Dwight could have killed him, or broken things Duke was partial to, like his face. He hadn't. Duke started to feel the adrenaline subside.

Duke was directed to a chair, and was encouraged to sit when Dwight's other hand grabbed him by the nape of the neck and forced him down. Duke heard the sound of metal on metal and his bound wrist was encased in a handcuff, which was quickly and efficiently locked around the opposite foreword leg of the chair, causing Duke to have to hunch slightly. Before he could spring up and try to take Dwight out with the chair (which would only have pissed the large man off, he thought) his other wrist was caught and also bound to the opposite front leg.

Dwight stood up and dragged another of Audrey's chairs over. He placed the back to Duke and then sat down, resting his arms across it to stare at the bound man.

The brown haired man growled. "Take a picture, it will last longer."

Dwight canted his head, clearly thinking about something before speaking. "You know, Nathan wanted me to keep an eye on you. He thought you were a danger to Audrey. Then Audrey goes missing. Then Nathan goes to the hospital. Then you go missing."

"I didn't! You can't think that I...!" Duke was so angry he couldn't even speak a complete sentence.

Dwight continued to stare at Duke. "Vince didn't tell me what I was going after because he said I'd just get scared or kill you. I had to think about that for a long time. Vince thinks you are the biggest threat to the troubled, and yet he wants you to live. I couldn't figure out why."

He shifted position on the chair. "I watched you. I was out there when that kid threw himself on your knife and I saw your reaction to it. I saw how you and Audrey cared about each other. But then, Audrey went missing and I had to know if you were a good con-man or actually in love with her."

Duke looked up. "So you kidnapped her?"

A gusty sigh parted Dwight's lips. "No. I heard on the police radio what happened. I came here because I knew you would. It was only a matter of time. I just waited for you."

"And now that you have me?" Duke's neck was beginning to ache from the way he had to keep holding it up to look at Dwight.

"I've seen enough to know that you are prone to being stupid, and that Nathan's right about you. You'll get yourself killed one of these days without anyone's intervention to stop you. He told me about what happened when Evi died. You came in here without a gun, without thinking if anyone would be here, or even bothering to check if anyone was around." Dwight shook his head. "Hell, you walked past me three times and didn't even see me."

"There were no lights on and no one's car in the parking lot. Cops get kind of angry if you pull on them, you know." Duke wriggled in the seat. He needed only a few more millimeters. Surely it was worth some skin…

Dwight looked at the other man calmly. "It never occurred to you that someone else could have walked in, picked the lock, and waited? You're damn lucky it was me, and I was already convinced that you wouldn't have hurt Audrey. She isn't the only one in this town with enemies."

"If you already knew I wouldn't have hurt Audrey, what was with attacking me and trying to cut off my hand at the wrist?" Exasperation was evident in the younger man's voice. His shoulders rocked side to side as he tried to work his hands free of the cuffs that bound him.

"Trust but verify, as a wise man once said."

"Great. I get political speeches from my captors. I hate to tell you this but no one's political agenda will be forwarded by me. It's not that my vote can't be bought, mind you. It's just that as a felon, I can't actually vote."

Dwight snorted. "I've found that people frequently tell the truth when they feel life and limb are in true danger." Dwight stood up and stretched the muscles in his neck.

"So now that you've verified, are you going to let me go?" Duke asked Dwight's bellybutton.

"Depends. Can I let you go or are you going to keep doing stupid things? I assume Nathan will want to discuss things with you when he's more capable of it. Yesterday afternoon he told me that you needed a keeper. I agreed to be it. You're lucky I like Nathan."

Duke's eyes widened in amazement. "Wait, you talked to Nathan? Is he OK?"

"No, he's not ok. He's got an extra hole where there shouldn't be one and he's worried about Audrey. He figure's you are the best bet she has to be found, and that you can't be trusted to keep a level head and will get killed before you can find her. But other than that, he's fine. Now if I let you go are you going to do anything stupid?" Dwight produced a key, seemingly to the handcuffs.

"Probably," Duke replied, as he leaned back, bringing his hands up to his chest and idly rubbing the one that was already showing the first stains of bruising. He had the satisfaction of seeing Dwight twitch in surprise. It was useful to be able to dislocate one thumb and be double jointed in the other.

* * *

><p>Dwight and Duke had spent some time discussing the next logical steps and thoroughly investigating Audrey's apartment. Duke found nothing in the empty space that would give any indication who took Audrey. In the back of his mind he tried to determine who knew him well enough to frame him and kept finding nothing.<p>

As the two men descended down the steps, there weren't any blue and white flashing lights waiting in the lot. After watching him lie on his belly to recover the sort of little black book that wouldn't interest a Hollywood Madame, Dwight took him out past the parking lots and toward the street that lead around the cove. Duke's familiar off-white truck was parked there, and he sought refuge in the back.

Dwight drove around, doing whatever he did during the day when he wasn't cleaning up Haven's messes. Duke sat quietly in the back of the truck and tried again with his contacts. An hour harrying practically every lowlife he knew got a lot of "I don't know anything, I swear"s out of people, but not even a sliver of information about where his girl had been taken, or by who, or why.

When the last of his leads came up empty, Duke put his hands over his face, as if that'd help keep himself together. He had no idea what to do next, and felt shattered for letting Audrey down. _No, I'll figure it out_, he assured himself, but the thought felt hollow.

His phone rang abruptly, and he answered gruffly without looking at the caller ID. "What?"

Most people would have been taken aback by such a greeting, but his caller wasn't most people. "Duke, you sound so unhappy," a sultry voice practically purred.

"What do you want, Katie?" He more than half regretted having tried to call her earlier. Apparently the number for his disposable phone had been captured despite not leaving a message.

"I'm calling to ask if you're missing something."

"Explain yourself," he demanded suspiciously. There was no doubt in his mind that Katie knew something about Audrey's abduction.

"I didn't get a close look, but I expect you're trying to find someone who is slight, and blonde, and not where she's supposed to be."

"What do you have to do with this?" he practically shouted. Up front Dwight flinched.

"Me? Nothing. I stopped by your place just in time to see someone carrying a young woman out of the apartment above the Gull. It wasn't you, so I figured that writing down the license plate might be worth something to you."

"Cut to the chase, Katie. What do you want for the license plate number?"

"Your undying gratitude," Katie quipped.

"And?" he growled.

"And a certain consideration when it comes to re-homing a pricey object about to come into my possession," she said, all hint of humor gone from her voice now. "And don't try to tell me that you've gone straight, Duke. You might be dating a cop-" He blinked, wondering how she'd put two and two together so quickly. "-but I know you. You still...dabble. Admit it."

"Fine, sure." He let her think she'd won. With luck she'd get busted stealing whatever it was that was about to fall into her hands anyway. "I'll help you move whatever it is."

"Good. Got a pen?" Duke scrambled for one and uncapped it just as she said, "Maine plate H3567O. You're welcome."

"Thank you," Duke replied, grimacing.

"I'll be in touch when I need you."

"Great."

Paper clutched in his hand, Duke stared at it, wondering what he was supposed to do with it next. He wouldn't be able to ask Audrey or Nathan to run the plate.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile and Far Away<p>

Audrey eventually became aware that she could feel the surface she was on vibrating. A scent of tobacco permeated everything, overlaid with the thick scent stale takeout of indeterminate origin. Her head went airborne for a moment before crashing back down on a thickly padded, but rough surface. It wasn't helping her headache. She could feel that her wrists were bound, but didn't think there was anything on her ankles. Of course, she wasn't about to start kicking out and revealing she was conscious to find out for sure.

Her thinking was a little fuzzy, but she was pretty sure she was in a car, heading somewhere. She risked opening here eyes a crack. The scene would never be one that an artist would capture as the peak of beauty. The backs of two seats, with two occupants in them. When the passenger turned to speak to the driver, she recognized his profile. It was one of the Rev's men from the posse. Idly she wondered what his name was. No doubt Duke would know.

"I still don't think this is a good idea. We should have just killed her at the apartment. Hell, with Crocker's reputation..." he started.

The driver never turned, but the tenor of his voice unmistakably made him male. "That was the problem. The Boss needs him."

Shock transformed the passenger's face. "I thought we were there to frame him?"

The driver gave a short sigh. "We just need him contained. A few nights in jail, and a series of warrants that suddenly show up, and a little visit from a few friends, and the Boss is sure he'll come back to the fold. It would have been a lot harder if he goes from a person of interest to a murder suspect."

"Kidnapping's a federal offense. It'll bring in the FBI," the passenger responded.

Audrey heard the springs creak in the driver's seat as he shifted his weight. "We'll get him out before the feds show up. Got to love bureaucracy."

The trio rode along in silence. Neither the driver nor the passenger seemed to suspect that Audrey was awake.

She thought frantically about what to do to get out of this mess. Duke had obviously been framed for her kidnapping. It would be discovered soon enough if it hadn't already been found. One of her kidnappers wanted to kill her, and at best they were taking her far enough out of town that finding her body would be difficult, to say the least. She chanced a quick look out the window and saw only trees around her. The lurching and bumping made her feel that this wasn't the world's best roadway. In the time that she'd been awake on this ill-fated journey, she hadn't heard another car go by.

At least she wasn't in the trunk.

Although if she was in the trunk, she could have at least pulled out the taillights.

She leaned back and thought about her options.

Her hands were cuffed in front of her. If she did anything, it was likely that her captors would notice. Her feet may be free, or may not be free. The car was dirty, dingy, and torn up, but in decent repair. It looked like all the bits were well affixed. She wasn't strapped in, so if they were in an accident, she was likely toast. However, as her captors may have wanted to kill her, she didn't think her safety was paramount on their list of concerns. She wished she had watched more MacGuyver as a kid – no doubt he was capable of freeing himself with a thread from the seat cushion.

She risked another look at the window and noticed snow has begun to fall. She could lurch up and try to choke out the driver or the passenger. Given that these were no doubt men who had been loyal to the Rev and therefore blind to anything but forwarding their cause, the driver probably wouldn't care if the passenger died. If she went after the driver, the car would likely crash. In either case, one of them would stun her with the taser before she got far with either attack.

Perhaps she could snore them into submission? The car was silent. Like most of the people she had met from Maine, with the notable exception of Duke, the men were mostly silent. The best she could think of for the men was to annoy them into letting her go. That didn't seem to be a good option either. She looked around again.

Passenger looked back and exclaimed, "She's awake and she saw me!"

The driver flicked his eyes up into the rear-view and confirmed Audrey's status for himself, and grunted acknowledgment. The eyes looked familiar, but she couldn't immediately place them. There was no point in maintaining the ruse. She sat up and groaned. Her muscles had stiffened and there was an unpleasant tingling sensation along all of her limbs. "Hi guys? How are you doing? Where are we going? I have to pee, so I don't suppose you could pull over at the nearest rest stop?"

Both men narrowed their eyes at her inane prattle. The driver said in a flat voice, "No."

"You know, usually this is the point in the story where you tell me what your nefarious plan is and get all dramatic waxing poetic about why you've kidnapped me and what you intend to do with me?" Audrey made sure to use her best perky voice.

The two men exchanged a glance. This time it was the passenger that answered. "No." He had apparently been taking lessons from the driver.

"Aww, but it's getting kind of boring with you two just being silent about everything. Are you sure you can't tell me something? Maybe even just your names?" Audrey smiled charmingly at him. It was the smile that usually provoked Duke to give her what ever she wanted.

This time the two men rolled their eyes at Audrey and didn't even respond with one word.


	30. Broken Glass

::Taps microphone:: Is this thing on? It's gotten kind of lonely in here...

* * *

><p>Audrey decided the annoyance plan was really all she had to work on at the moment. Perhaps something better would come up if she managed to get the men off guard.<p>

"Hey! I know we can play a game. I spy with my little eye something beginning with T," Audrey announced, channeling her best imitation of annoyingly perky TV Shopping Channel personalities.

Driver sighed. Passenger shook his head and commented to Driver, "Can we gag her?"

Driver shook his head. It was Passenger's turn to sigh.

"Come on guys, you need to guess! It's no fun if you don't play! What else are we going to do while you take me to where ever? Are you sure you don't want to tell me your nefarious plan? I mean, I know you are, or make that were, the Rev's men. It must have something to do with killing the cursed in Haven. I'm sure you aren't planning to leave me alive. It's funny, now that I think about it, I mean, isn't Thou Shalt Not Kill in the bible?"

Driver spoke softly when she drew air for breath. "Thou shall not suffer a witch to live."

"Is that what you see the Troubled as? Witches? They aren't, you know. Most of the Troubled just want to live ordinary lives." She hoped that the men would listen, but didn't put much stock in it. The Rev's men were well indoctrinated in hate.

Passenger chimed in. "Tell that to someone who hasn't seen the Troubled kill for the sheer joy of it. They are cursed and the spawn of Satan. They need to be eliminated."

"They are human beings, you know." Audrey felt her temper rise. She couldn't let the men, or more importantly, the memory of their self-important judgmental leader distract her.

Both men grunted in response. Mentioning the Troubled had gotten some responses, but it had also raised her blood pressure. You can't argue with a fanatic, she reminded herself.

"So do you have a guess as to what I see that starts with T?"

Passenger turned in his seat. "Do you ever shut up?"

"Funny, Nathan sometimes asks me the same thing. More politely, though. What is it with you guys and not talking? I mean, are you rationed words at birth or something? I don't think you've said more than 20 words to me." Audrey could see Passenger being visibly irritated, and noticed that Driver had started grinding his teeth. "What would happen to you two if you had a teenage girl who talked on the phone constantly? I mean, I didn't talk on the phone constantly, because really, I didn't have very many friends when I was a teenager moving around so much, but I know that the stereotype is. And I know I talk a lot more than Nathan does, and Eleanor did. Really, only Julia and Duke talk nearly as much as I do, and I still think I have them beat in spades. I think..." Audrey's eyes widened in shock. "MOOSE!"

Passenger growled. "Like you think we'll fall for that."

Audrey was too busy dropping off the seat and into the well, curling up into a ball behind Passenger's seat to respond. Her feet were indeed free, she noted absently. Driver jerked the car rapidly to the left and then to the right, trying to avoid the overgrown deer. Nathan once told her that moose were like squirrels. They were stupid and could be counted on to run into danger, largely because they had poor eyesight. The moose also had a distinct disadvantage – they were larger and didn't corner as well.

There was a sickening crunch as the car impacted with something. Safely tucked into the foot well, Audrey was jostled, but not harmed. She tentatively lifted her head up. The windscreen of the car was demolished, and it looked like the one of the moose's legs had broken through it. Passenger wouldn't have to worry about the Troubled anymore. His head hung at a twisted angle, likely hit by the moose's hoof.

Driver also wouldn't have to worry about the Troubled. While he had been wearing his seat-belt, it hadn't saved him from the jagged shards of glass that had scored up and down his body. He was gurgling futilely, trying to stay alive, but it was a lost cause. That didn't stop Audrey from trying. She pulled her camisole over her head and wadded it between her cuffed hands, and tried to stop the bleeding from the big cut along Driver's neck. A shard of glass had impaled the seat, and was still partially in his neck. She tried to apply pressure to stop the bleeding, knowing that she dare not move the glass shard itself, as it might be sealing some of the blood in.

Her efforts didn't matter much. Within a few minutes he had joined Passenger in the afterlife. With his whole face still and revealed to her, she recognized Samuel Kingsbury, one of Haven's mailmen. She sighed, regretting that the men had died, and that the moose had been killed. Still, it had given her a chance to escape. She opened the door on the passenger's side and left the car. She fumbled open Passenger's door and quickly went through his pockets and found his wallet, identifying him as Allen Spencer. He had a picture of a wide-eyed child held by a brown haired woman with a Mona Lisa smile. There was no key to the hand cuffs though.

She went around to Driver's side, and finally finding the key in his shirt pocket. Audrey quickly unlocked the cuffs. The former FBI agent slipped her camisole off of her hands, grateful to have the bloody fabric away from her skin. It was still snowing. The blonde woman knew she wouldn't last long out without a shirt or coat. She popped the trunk and prayed. Sure enough, in the back of the old car was a blanket, a snow shovel, a few flares, a set of dishes and a set of jumper cables. She wrapped the blanket around herself and wished she had her cell phone for the GPS. The glove compartment yielded up a map reluctantly. She figured that that if she kept traveling up the road long enough she would find a road name or a town name. Sure enough, as she kept going up the road she passed a sign for the small town of East Millinocket.

* * *

><p>As much as Duke would have liked to have charged into the police station and demand to speak to Audrey's friend Stan, he knew that the adventure would probably end with him in handcuffs, then down in the holding cell he'd been stored in after his freak out the day of Evi's murder.<p>

Though it horrified him to do so, Duke knew there was only one sane course open to him: he was going to have to ask a favor and there were only two people he could ask it of. It was in his personal code not to ever be beholden to anyone, but this time there was no way around it. Even knowing that, his stomach roiled as he pulled out his brand new phone and stared at it.

_I can do this_, Duke told himself as his finger hovered over the flat plastic buttons. _I've been in a ton of scarier situations than this_, he added. Gritting his teeth, he finally dialed.

"Hello?" Jess answered tensely, and he began to worry that there had been a complication with Nathan's surgery that Dwight had decided he shouldn't share.

"Is he okay?" Duke found himself asking. It wasn't what he intended to ask, but it was what he was supposed to ask first.

"He hasn't woken up yet but they're optimistic about his chances," Jess told him, making Duke give Dwight a suspicious look. Had Nathan secretly been awake and sent Dwight after him, or had it been Dwight's own idea after all and he just thought claiming Nathan had tasked him with it would carry more weight?

"Good," Duke replied, trying to keep his thoughts on Nathan. _At least God hasn't added murder to my list of misdeeds,_ he found himself thinking irreverently. "That's really good to hear."

"Is that why you called?" Jess sounded uncertain, and his paranoia flared, insisting that she was nervous because she was being watched.

"Partly. I also need you to do me a favor."

"What kind?"

"One of my, uh, contacts saw something. She got a plate number."

"She?" Jess asked archly.

Duke snorted derisively. "Don't think of Katie as a lady like yourself. Think of her more as a hellcat. I don't trust her so I'm terrified that she's simply screwing with me and the plate number will turn out to be a fake. Or worse, that she's involved and luring me into a trap."

"Oh D...ear." When Jess corrected herself, he became even more concerned that she was trying not to let on that she was speaking to him. "What can I do?"

"Convince Audrey's friend Stan to run the plate number. Then find a way to get the address out of him."

"I'll do my best."

"Thank you," Duke said gratefully. He gave her the plate number before hanging up. He figured it would be better to be beholden to Jess than Dwight in the long run. She hadn't tried to chop off his hand with a cleaver, after all.

* * *

><p>Jess wandered into the station without the slightest clue of how she'd get the address for the vehicle's owner. To begin with she stood in the station looking hopeful. Speaking to Stan was the first step. Eventually someone asked her if she needed help.<p>

"Hi, I need to talk to one of the officers. Stan?"

For a second the officer seemed a little confused, but then he smiled. "You're Nathan's Jess, aren't you?"

"Yes, that's me," Jess agreed. It gave her a warm feeling to be called 'Nathan's Jess' but worry about him followed on its heels. When she left a nurse assured her that it was normal for him to sleep off the anesthesia after his surgery, but she thought he should have come around sooner.

"I'll let Stan know you're here. Is he expecting you?"

"Uh, no."

"Right. It might be a couple of minutes then."

"Thanks."

The officer returned in a minute and shepherded her into Stan's office before disappearing. Stan looked up at her with a welcoming look that made her insides squirm. Stan was a sweet man, and she felt guilty for deceiving him, but desperate times called for desperate measures. "What can I do for you, Ms. Minion?"

"Actually, it's what can you do for Nathan," Jess lied smoothly. "He needs this plate run."

Stan looked surprised. "Nathan asked you to have me run a plate for him?"

"Yes."

"So he's out of surgery, then?"

"He is, but he hasn't managed to get a phone in his room yet, and you know the hospital's policy on cell phones..." Stan nodded, but his expression said he had no idea what that policy was. "This plate, he committed it to memory. Nathan said it had to do with him being shot and Audrey's disappearance."

"So the two things are connected," Stan surmised, making her cringe inside. Maybe she shouldn't have let him jump to that conclusion.

"I suppose. He's still a little fuzzy about what happened."

"Oh, sure."

"And he said that he can't rest until this plate is run and he can investigate the car's owner himself." Jess gave him a crooked smile. "My next stop is to go to his house and grab his laptop."

"His thinking must be still be clouded. If he's going to work from home, uh, hospital, he's going to need his computer here."

"Ah, right." Jess silently bitched at herself for not realizing that.

"No problem, I'll pack it up for you once I'm done running this for him."

"Thanks, Stan. You're a lifesaver," Jess said gratefully. _Maybe literally a lifesaver_, she thought, considering it was the only scrap of information that anyone had about what had happened to Audrey.

Twenty minutes later Jess left with a name and address.

* * *

><p>Instead of driving back to the hospital, Jess drove home where she could speak freely to Duke. The phone only rang twice before a voice croaked, "Jess?"<p>

"Hello, Duke. I got the address."

"You did?" He sounded both surprised and excited. "Thank you!"

"Thank me by getting her back," Jess said firmly. "Do you have a pen?"

She waited for a second while he got something to write with, then read off the address Stan had given her. There was silence on the other end of the line. "Duke?" she asked, worried that the call had been dropped.

"You're sure that this is the address?"

"I'm sure. Why?"

"This is the town Nathan called last night. It's where Audrey seems to have been born."

"That's very strange," Jess blurted out.

After a beat, Duke replied, "Maybe it isn't strange at all."

She had no idea what he meant by that, but decided that it wasn't worth grilling him over. "I'll keep you informed about Nathan's progress. And you'll try to keep me in the loop about Audrey, won't you?"

"I will. Thanks, Jess. I can't thank you enough."

"No, you can't," Jess agreed.

Over the phone line she heard a faint snort. "I really mean it, Jess. If it wasn't for you, Dwight and I would be driving all over creation when we got there."

"You're with Dwight?" she asked with a start.

"Yeah, he showed up and said that Nathan assigned him to babysit me."

_When?_ she wondered, thinking about the unconscious man. Before all of this, she decided. That had to be it. _But why would Nathan have thought he needed a keeper before he got shot? _She pushed the doubt away uneasily. "Well, if anyone can keep you in line, it'd be Dwight."

"You think so? Even Audrey doesn't have a spotless track record when it comes to forcing me onto the straight and narrow, and she's a lot more charming..." At first Duke had sounded amused, but as the words spilled out, his humor dried up. "I'm trying very hard not to do anything stupider than usual," he concluded, all trace of happiness gone out of his tone.

"I...Be careful, Duke. And bring Audrey back," she finally blurted out.

"I'll do my best," he promised.

She believed him, but she wasn't sure that his best would be enough. Jess hoped so, but that's all she could muster up when it came to faith.

* * *

><p>It was a long and boring walk from the wreck to the small village of East Millinocket, population 1860 plus 1 migrant ex-FBI agentpolice officer/sufferer of severe identity crisis individual. Even after entering "The Town that Paper Made" as the town's sign announced cheerfully, there was a bit of a walk before finding a house. She walked up to it and knocked on the door. She was greeted by an older, suspicious woman.

"May I borrow your phone please?" Audrey asked, politely.

The woman squarely blocked the doorway. "Why? Don't you carry a cell phone?"

Audrey wondered what it was that was so deeply ingrained in the genetic memory of Maine residents to distrust anyone from outside their town. It seemed to be a New England thing, distinctly different from all the Norman Rockwell portrayals she had learned about, or rather the other Audrey had learned about, in Ohio.

"I lost it. I was in a car wreck. Driver hit a moose and I need to call it in. I'm a police officer out of Haven, Maine." For a moment Audrey's hand went to her hip, but then she remembered she had been intending to make breakfast, not arrest anyone when she was taken. She didn't have her badge on her.

At the mention of a car wreck the woman took another look, and immediately softened her stance and cleared the door. "Oh, I'm so sorry. Here, come in. Of course you can use the phone."

The two women walked in through the kitchen and Audrey found a phone hanging on a wall. She dialed 911 where she reported the accident to a quiet operator, and then, spying the list of town phone numbers on the refrigerator, called the local police station to report it as well. There was a bit of confusion as the local police dispatcher asked worriedly over Martha, her aunt, to make sure she was OK. Martha had to come to the phone and assure the woman at the other end of the line that no, she hadn't been in the accident, it was the officer who called that was in the accident. There was five minutes of catching up between the two women and assurances of well-being before they returned to the matter at hand. After being assured that someone from the police station would be there to pick her up and take her statement about the accident, Audrey took a grateful seat at the kitchen table and drank the cup of coffee that had been offered to her.

Some five minutes later the door bell rang with a subdued chime announcing the arrival of another visitor, presumably the officer sent to pick her up. As Martha walked Audrey to the door, chatting amicably now that it was proven that the blonde woman was not in fact a threat to life, limb, or the Maine way of life, Audrey couldn't help but feel there was something familiar about the woman. Something that nagged at her.

She realized what it was as the door opened on to another familiar face. Another member of the Rev's posse that had hunted the Wendigo girls. Martha had been one of the women at the baptism on the day she had met Reverend Driscoll.

* * *

><p>Duke was sure Dwight had many virtues. At the moment he was pressed to name one of them. He knew he was being unfair, but after several hours being trapped in Dwight's van, he didn't much care. It was cold and he was hungry, and he was impatient. He was getting ready to leave. He had already tried once and found out Dwight had swiped the battery from his Land Rover. Before he left, Dwight had kept counseling Duke to be patient and that if he in anyway hot wired the truck, Dwight would personally break each one of his fingers.<p>

Duke was tired of being patient. Every minute of being patient was one more minute he wasn't doing anything to help Audrey. The fact that he had no idea what he was up against or who, didn't really matter. He certainly wasn't doing anything useful hiding in Dwight's van. Being out of Dwight's van probably wouldn't be much more effectual in getting things done, but at least the scenery would be nicer.

The driver side door creaked open and then slammed shut. Something came flying back toward his head and Duke snagged it out of the air before it could impact him in the head. A bottle of water quickly followed it on the same trajectory.

"Thought you might be hungry," Dwight rumbled in the same register as the truck's engine which, coughed to life.

Duke unwrapped the missile to find it was a sandwich. He bit into it. It certainly tasted interesting. In the same way that a dirty sock might taste interesting. Still it was food. It was better than nothing, and at least his keeper had fed him. He finished it off in a few more bites, and then downed the bottle of water. He was loath to admit it but it made him feel more human.

"Sorry for the wait, but the police were searching The Celeste. You wouldn't have been able to get on her to get out of the harbor. They also have the roads locked down now since your truck showed up back in town," Dwight offered.

Duke sighed. The maps on board Cape Rouge would have been helpful, as they were navigational charts. As it was he had been stuck with Dwight's beaten up road atlas of Maine, which indicated that the town lay near the center of the state, about 70 miles from Bangor. What interested him, though, was that it was near the western branch of the Penobscot river. He would never have been able to get Cape Rouge up the river, but perhaps, just perhaps The Celeste would make it, though she was built more for close shore fishing than for river running. It was worth a shot, and it would take someone more time to catch them on the river than it would on the roads. At least it would be if he had navigational charts of the river.

The Celeste had last been taken out when Audrey II had found him the treasure map that eventually dragged Evi into the mess that led to her death, and where the young FBI agent's memory was stolen away. The smaller vessel was one Duke used to make short trips the larger freighter wasn't suitable for, and served as his "fun" boat, for going out fishing, partying, and such. The boats registration was clean, and most people thought she was owned by someone else who hired Duke as an occasional pilot, not that he owned it himself. He was content to let the story stand. It looked like someone actually decided to look up the old girl's registry and linked it to him.

"They didn't find anything. The good news was that while they were so busy giving the Celeste a once over, there was no one watching Cape Rouge and I was able to get those charts you wanted." Dwight tossed a nest of paper on the floor, and Duke through them. The charts of the river were there. _One problem solved_, the tired man thought.

Duke was trying to wrap his mind around how to get out to The Celeste and get her up the river. He noticed the sounds of the gulls getting louder. The truck shuddered and rocked back on its axles as it came to a stop. Duke chanced a quick look out the window and found himself at The Celeste's slip. "Are you nuts?" he hissed at Dwight.

"Not according to my discharge paperwork. The United State's government certified me as sane when I left the service," Dwight supplied.

Duke stared at the big man. Some things were just too strange to contemplate. "I think you have to be certifiable to live in Haven, Sasquatch."

The blond nodded. "It is amazing how few mental health professionals there are for our population. But consider where you live."

Duke met the eyes of the other man. "I live in a boat on the water. I don't technically live in town. That's why I'm probably the only sane resident."

This time it was Dwight that snorted. "They finished with your boat according to the radio. We can leave anytime you are ready. It helped that some anonymous tipster saw you at the south end of town talking to Hal Larker about going up to Canada."

Duke stared at the ex-ranger. Then he grabbed the charts and slid out the passenger's side door, bolting for the small craft. Nathan had perhaps had a point having Dwight involved in this mess. He could hear the other man's heavy tread behind him as he boarded the small boat, and woke her up from her long sleep. She came alive under his hands by the time Dwight had boarded her, and needed only her lines cast off, which the big soldier set to.

Within moments they were free of the docks and heading out to sea to get to the Penobscot river mouth where they could journey further up river to the town that he was sure that Audrey was in. Now if he could only figure out who had taken her.

* * *

><p>Navigating the estuary at the mouth of the river was always a dicey proposition. The sand bars shifted daily, moving as the tides and constant water streaming from Maine's central lakes demanded. Then there was the river traffic, the barges and tugs bringing down lumber or bringing up materials to the points along the long and winding river. At least there were no tourists darting around like startled minnows trying to view everything. Studying the residents in their "native" habitat. It made Duke's job easier.<p>

It was a long slow haul until they got to the clearer waters of the river proper, even then barges and tugs were still in the deep water lanes, but there were fewer vessels in the shallower water near the banks, which Duke used to his advantage. The further up the river they went, the less traffic they ran into on the river. Unfortunately, it also made it more likely to run into rocks and sunken trees. That was why Duke preferred the open waters of the ocean. You weren't likely to ever run into the Georges Bank and rip out the hull of your boat. The river captains, though, had to deal with that danger daily. The trade off was they never had to ride a hurricane out at sea. Not an experience Duke really wanted to relive, either.

Dwight paced the deck of the boat once or twice, before settling back in the scant shelter of the boat's pilot house and set to sawing logs with a vengeance. The man could snore, and for an irrational moment Duke wondered if he would be ordered to stop for tree poaching. Surely someone would hear that noise and think they were stealing trees. He brushed the thought from his cob-webby mind, thinking that he really should have tried to rest in his enforced confinement in the truck. But Audrey was out there, somewhere, with someone that meant her no good. And really, what was sleep next to that?

"You should have done a stint in the Army, Duke. You'd have learned practical life skills like eat when you can, sleep when you can, and fretting is something best done on a guitar."

Duke jumped and then turned to glare at his passenger. "I thought you were asleep?"

"I was until your muttering to yourself woke me up. I have never met a man that talked as much as you did. You'll do Audrey no good if you get yourself so wound up you can't act." The big man got up and shouldered the smaller man aside. Smaller being relative, but still, it wasn't often that Duke had to look up to anyone. The cleaner topped him by at least three inches, and likely outweighed him by a good 70 pounds of sheer muscle.

"And what, now you have to drive? What the hell do you know about boats?" Duke's annoyance was making him want to ditch his partner in crime, er rescue.

Dwight gave the man an amused look. "Little kids need naps or they can't play with the people that took their friends hostage. And it's not exactly rocket science. I mean, it's not like I can pick the wrong road here." Dwight gestured down the long river, with no tributaries major enough to be confused with the western fork of the river that they had to travel down.

Duke understood the man's reasoning, he just didn't feel like being reasonable. "No, you could just get us hulled on the rocks, run us aground, get us stuck on a tree. Get us..."

"-as far as the fork alive and in one piece. Duke, be honest with yourself for Audrey's sake. Can you really help her if you are so tired you are muttering to yourself? Even I know you don't normally do that. Amuse me by sitting still and pretending to sleep. Cause if you don't, I'll knock you out and I might not be able to wake you up when you need to do something useful, like find the right fork."

Duke wanted to argue, and if it were Nathan he would have. He stared at Dwight a long time before coming to the decision that the Viking reject would actually do something unpleasant to him if he didn't yield if it gave Audrey a better chance at being found alive and OK. He also still had bruises from their last encounter, and remembered that he had never actually been able to stop the soldier except for when he had absorbed the other man's blood.

"I don't suppose you'd be kind enough to stand still while I cut you and you bleed on me again? I mean, if you are feeling violent," Duke asked hopefully.

Dwight's mouth edged up in a grin. "Let me think about that... No."

Duke conceded the argument to the other man and sat in the chair, leaning up against the window, wondering how he had lost control of the situation so fast. Oh yeah, Nathan had sicced a big hairy Sasquatch on him. Maybe.

"Control Freak," the blond man said.

"I heard that," Duke replied, but if there was an answer it was lost in the darkness as sleep rose to claim him.


	31. Waking Up

Haven

_He's so pale_, Jess thought as she stared at Nathan. _And still_.

When she actually thought about it, it was the stillness that really bothered her. Nathan wasn't a restless man, but at the moment he looked like he could have been carved out of wax rather than flesh and blood. She should have been immune to such thoughts considering how much time she'd spent with people who were in rougher shape than him and had managed to pull through, but this was different. Those other people didn't have a claim on her heart the way Nathan did.

Not only was Nathan too quiet for her liking, the hush inside his hospital room was getting to Jess as well. She turned on a lamp so she could read, but the light felt too dim to combat the shadows that staked out the corners of the room like ghosts. Thinking about shadows made her shiver - it had been a shadow that had driven her out of Haven. And away from Nathan.

_Not this time_, she thought fiercely. Glancing at him, she was filled with a sudden urge to make sure that he understood that. When she had promised to never run away again before leading him to her bedroom, she'd meant it with all her heart. It hadn't been a hastily made vow fueled only by desire.

_Wake up_, she silently demanded, but he didn't stir.

Sighing, she tried to go back her book, but after reading a paragraph three times and still not comprehending, she put the book down and rubbed her eyes. The crack and pops her back made as she stood up made her wince, reminding her sharply of how long she'd been waiting for Prince Charming to wake up. In spite of herself this thought had her smiling faintly: Nathan would've protested mightily if she'd called him Prince Charming to his face, and part of it would've been an insistence that Sleeping Beauty was the slumberer, not the Prince. Maybe he had a point...after all, she had felt like she'd been sleepwalking through life in Québec.

For no particular reason Duke's strange comment about a tattoo floated through her mind. She'd seen the injured man completely bare. Surely she would've noticed if he'd gotten a tattoo! But then, she'd been a little preoccupied at the time...

Reaching down, she gently turned over one of his arms. This revealed the smooth expanse of slightly tanned skin, but no ink. It took a moment's contemplation to figure out how to move the other arm without disturbing the IV line, but eventually she worked it out.

This arm too was unmarred by anything more than a sprinkle of faint freckles.

Confused, she rocked back on her heels. Duke had sounded so sure, but she couldn't think of anywhere else he might of thought he'd seen a tattoo. Especially considering that she'd heard about the dead psychic's insistence that she had seen a tattooed man reaching for the smuggler.

_What else could Duke of seen_? she wondered as she returned to her chair and picked the book back up. A chill took her when she thought of shadows once more.

* * *

><p>Later<p>

Nathan groaned and opened his eyes. The sight that met his initially blurry gaze was less one of beauty than utility. The walls of his hospital room were a sickly green that probably helped no one's nausea, and the furniture was spartan. Craning his neck, Nathan spied a novel sitting on the top of an otherwise unoccupied table top.

Having noticed the book's title, Nathan was not surprised when the door to his room swung open, and Jess walked in. As soon as she noticed that his eyes were open, her face lost some of the pinched worry he had observed. "Nathan, you're awake." She sounded as relieved as she looked.

"I'm awake. Guess you won't need to use your front door just yet," Nathan croaked, annoyed at how hoarse he sounded.

For a second Jess looked totally confused, but then she summoned up a faint smile. "I've always used the front door, Nathan. You're the one with restrictions."

"So I am," he replied lazily before his brow furrowed. There was something important he should be thinking about, rather than just lying there. Why was he lying there, his mind asked, and everything came back to him. "I got shot?"

_I got shot in the gut, and Audrey's gone_, he thought in a panic. _Why hasn't she said anything about Audrey? Jess would tell me if she was dead, wouldn't she? _Eventually he decided that Jess wouldn't keep something so serious from him, so he tried to downgrade his fear from Audrey Dead to Audrey Missing. It wasn't in him to be wildly optimistic and think that she might have already been recovered. If she had been, she would have been there too.

Jess nodded. "You were shot." She suddenly looked grim. "Some people assume Duke shot you on purpose."

"Not this time," Nathan told her. "We were fighting over the gun and it went off. Odds are even I shot my damn self."

To his surprise, she looked relieved. "That's what he told me. I wanted to believe him, but his reputation..."

"You've spoken to him? At the jail?"

"At the jail?" she repeated, obviously lost.

"Unless you're saying he hasn't been arrested?" Nathan prompted. It had been his automatic assumption that Duke had been brought in as soon as Jess said that people thought he was responsible for his injury. No doubt he'd be suspected in Audrey's disappearance too, though Nathan himself had eventually come to believe him before he passed out from blood loss.

"No, Nathan, he left town before he could be arrested."

"Naturally."

"Actually, he wanted to wait until he found out if you'd be okay, but I told him to leave before he got brought in," Jess explained.

"You told him to leave town?" Nathan asked, incredulous.

"Of course I did."

"Why 'of course?'"

"With you out of action, Duke is Audrey's only chance."

Nathan struggled to sit, but Jess gently pushed him back down. Sighing, he looked up at her. "How do you know he's really looking for her?"

"We've kept in touch. He and Dwight are looking for her as we speak."

"Dwight's really with him?"

"Don't ask me to explain that," Jess complained. "I can't."

"But they're looking for her."

"Yes."

Nathan let his head drop to the pillow.

"Are you okay?" Jess looked concerned.

"I'm out of this," Nathan said as way of explanation, but it didn't make her look like she felt any better. "I'm not the one who is going to bring her back, if we can get her back at all."

"To me it sounds like they're on the right trail, Nathan. Duke will get her back. I know he will."

Nathan laughed, a harsh sound in the quiet room. "If I had had your faith in him, I wouldn't be here right now sprouting an IV from the back of my hand and too weak to stand." At least he assumed that he was - he wasn't going to try and probably embarrass himself in front of her.

Jess didn't correct him. "You have to tell people that he didn't shoot you, Nathan. If they're looking for him, it'll only make it harder for him to find Audrey."

"And what am I supposed to tell them about her disappearance? I can say that the gun went off when I handled it carelessly and they'll have to drop those charges, but I can't convincingly claim to know what happened to her because I don't."

"Someone does, though."

"Obviously. She hardly kidnapped herself."

"No, I mean, a specific someone does," Jess insisted.

"And you know who that someone is? Who took her?"

"Not who took her, but who saw her taken," Jess told him. "Does the name Katie McCready mean anything to you?"

Nathan groaned, then really wished he hadn't when he immediately felt like he'd been stabbed in the belly. "Don't tell me that she's involved in this mess."

"She gave Duke a license plate number, for the car that drove off with Audrey in it. If it wasn't for her he probably wouldn't be on track to get her back."

"And what did she ask for in return, Duke's firstborn? Not that I think baby Jean would be her idea of a prize-"

"Duke didn't tell me."

"Of course he didn't. Not if Katie's involved."

"You don't like her," Jess observed.

"Neither of us do, actually. I hate her because she's evil, and Duke...well, opposites attract, and they're not opposites. If Duke's dad having black hair didn't make it damn unlikely that Duke could have a blonde sister, I'd suspect that Simon knew Katie's mother in the biblical sense back in the early eighties. And if you want to know what Katie is like, imagine Duke, but without any conscience whatsoever and with a really nice rack." Nathan looked away when he realized that he'd actually said the last part out loud. He could only blame the anesthesia's aftereffects for the way the words were spilling out of him.

"She did tell him about the car," Jess said patiently.

"I'm sure she did. But who's to say that she didn't know the plate number because she knew that the car was going to be involved in a kidnapping before it happened? I'm not kidding when I say I hold her in the highest contempt."

"I'd gotten that sense."

As awful as the woman was, Nathan felt a grudging sense of gratitude towards her. If her help actually played a role in Duke finding Audrey, he'd have to revise his opinion of her. And he really hoped that he'd get the chance to, because he knew that getting his partner back wasn't in his own hands, not even a little bit.

Reaching up, Nathan took Jess's hand. "I want you to let me know what Duke has to say. Even if it's not anything I want to hear, even if it's bad news, or the worst news. Okay?"

Jess nodded. "I will, Nathan. And now that you're awake, I'll make sure he has your number too."

"Okay." Nathan couldn't really picture Duke calling him any time soon, but it was good to know that it was possible.

* * *

><p>Duke woke from a nightmare of a large bear staring at him to find it a reality. Except this bear resembled a sasquatch. After a moment he realized it was only his Nordic baby sitter watching him. "Can I help you?" he asked, acerbically.<p>

Dwight blinked at him. "I think that we're near the fork. I figured it was better for you to take over now."

The dark haired man stretched, then attempted to crack his neck. He rubbed at it when it failed to ease the tension adequately. "Please tell me that you didn't hit anything," he said as he left the seat and started for the wheel.

The cleaner shrugged, then sat back in the seat Duke so recently occupied, leaning nonchalantly against the back of the chair. "There was one big bang, but it didn't wake you up. The boat didn't sink."

Duke paused in his path, trying to figure out if Dwight was serious or not. He reminded himself again never to play poker with the other man. He had to be one of the most difficult to read people that the con man had ever met. "Where did the bang come from?"

"Somewhere on the boat," Dwight supplied helpfully.

With a sigh the sea captain took the helm. As Dwight had noted, the boat hadn't sank. That must have been a good sign. Duke looked at the GPS positioning and noted that Dwight had been right. The fork was not far ahead, and they could almost hear the sound of the river change as the two ends of the rivers joined to form the river that ran down to the sea.

Duke angled the boat so that it was sitting securely in the deepest part of the channel, using the color of the water as his guide. The boat was shallow in the draft, but she was still designed for the sea rather than river navigation. The further up the river they went the shallower it became. The charts he had indicated that the river became un-navagable a few miles above the small town that was their destination. Already there were more rocks and brush in the river than there had been when they set out.

A constant stream of whitecapped water surged around submerged rocks, and Duke thought once again about things going bang against the hull of the boat. Still, she didn't seem any less responsive than she normally was. He would expect her to be sluggish if she was taking on water. Of course they were fighting upstream, so it wasn't like he may have noticed either.

Duke banished the thoughts of cracks, broken hulls, and sunken boats from his mind. They were nearing the small town that was their ultimate destination. He had no idea what they would find there, but he fervently hoped it was Audrey. For one brief moment he imagined just wandering around the town calling for his girlfriend like she was a lost dog, and having her come running around the corner of some house asking him what took so long. Things never went that smoothly, even outside of Haven.

Dwight chose that moment to walk over to him. The seat sighed in relief as the big man stood up. Taking his eyes off the dark expanse of water ahead, Duke asked, "what?"

The taller man leaned against the railing, and Duke was mildly alarmed that the railing hit him at the level of his upper thigh. Duke would have been less worried that a sudden rocking of the boat would topple him backwards into the water if he'd been able to brace his back against it. Dwight gave him a calculating look for a moment before finally asking, "How do you see this going, Duke?"

"This?" Duke asked, gesturing to indicate that Dwight ought to elaborate.

Dwight sighed. "We get to East Millinocket and then what when it'll probably turn out that the kidnapper isn't politely waiting for us at the address on his car registration? Start going door to door and demanding answers? Or hope that we'll dock the boat and see Audrey running out of the woods towards us? That sort of thing only happens in poorly written movies," Dwight said, leaving Duke wondering for a brief moment if he read minds.

"I don't know yet," Duke admitted, giving his companion a sour look. "Why does everyone seem so stuck on the idea that I have all the answers?"

"Because no one else does," Dwight told him calmly.

"Well, I don't either. We'll figure something out."

"Of course," Dwight said instantly.

It was all Duke could do to keep himself from heaving a sigh himself. They would figure it out. Audrey needed them to.

* * *

><p>Sasquatch took advantage of Duke's piloting to check his crossbow. With a sinking feeling Duke noticed and realized that he couldn't bring his normal weapon of choice, his variety of hand-guns. There was too great a chance that Dwight would be hit. Even if he took his normal precautions, and Duke did believe that some of his companion's substantial bulk was a vest, an unlucky hit to the head would leave him trying to care for another gunshot man.<p>

That left him with knives, and he wasn't really fond of that option. With a knife, he was limited to close combat while anyone that may have Audrey would likely have a gun. On the plus side, Dwight would likely attract any flying bullets, so there was that advantage. It still didn't make him feel better about the situation. Even if Dwight had managed to store an extra crossbow, it wasn't exactly inconspicuous as a weapon out side of a Renaissance faire. Still, it was too late to rethink it now. There was nothing to be done about it now. He could see houses beginning to line the river when only trees had been there for miles. He was likely on the outskirts of the town, and there wasn't much else they could do to prepare now.

* * *

><p><em>Crap<em>, Audrey thought as she saw the officer that had been called out to "help" her. She tried to back up but the woman was right behind her, preventing her from going anywhere. That was then the officer saw her. He smiled pleasantly, but there was a malicious glint in his eyes.

"Hey, I'm glad to see you're ok. We found the car a couple of hours ago. What a mess. That moose really did cause a lot of damage." The other officer jogged up to the house, and took Audrey's wrist firmly in hand.

Audrey realized she could fight, but it wouldn't be worth it, really. Likely the woman behind her would only aid the officer if she turned to fight, and really, she could understand. Why help a disheveled stranger when an officer of the law caused her to panic? There was no need to get the woman further involved. The former FBI agent resigned herself to being captured again.

"Yes, I'm fine, a little bruised is all." Audrey followed the officer when he tugged at her wrist, and found herself being stuffed into the back of a cruiser. The narrow confines didn't allow her to do much to fight off the officer, not that she was inclined to with the witness present. The officer that had come to "help" her had cuffed her hand and secured the other end of the cuff to a door handle.

The car rocked as the officer got into the driver's side and started up the engine. "Thanks for saving us the trouble of finding you. Really considerate."

Audrey growled, "I try."

They rode along in silence, and Audrey was surprised when they passed what was obviously a police station from all the black and white cars in the lot. They continued along the roads on to the edge of town, where once again the trees grew thicker and the houses became less and less visible through them.

Eventually the officer stopped after pulling into a driveway. Around here were mostly trees, and a large, but rundown house in the woods. Its clapboard siding was badly in need of paint, and the decorative woodwork on the porch was broken in places. The officer uncuffed her from the bar, and then pulled her from the car. As she exited the patrol car, Audrey thought she could hear the roaring of a river in the distance. The driveway had been gravel and what was left of it crunched underfoot.

Having no witnesses to worry about, the officer grabbed Audrey and manhandled her around to secure the cuffs to both wrists now behind her back. He then marched her up onto the worn porch of the building. He led her through the warren of hallways in the house, which seemed to have had doors sprouting from every available place. It was something she had noticed in very old houses in Haven. Every small cupboard had a door to close to keep the heat in. It usually meant the house was very old.

"Stay here," the officer warned, and then retreated to the door they came through. Audrey looked around. The room was sparsely furnished, but had several bookcases lining the edges of the room, and a small desk in the corner. The long flat boards had holes between them allowing her to see down into the dark cellar below her feet. She could feel the boards sway as she moved.

As she realized she was what was likely the main parlor of the house, Audrey noticed a thin man glaring out at the world with a parcel of four children seated at his feet. Beneath the portrait were the words Mapplethorpe Driscoll and Family. It appeared that this was the Driscoll family estate. It also looked like The Rev was a chip off of whoever's block, or at least got style and fashion hints from them. However there was something odd about one of the children. While most of them took after Mapplethorpe's severely reserved expression, there was one that was looking serious, yet with a light of mischief in her eyes. She'd seen that self same expression somewhere before and couldn't place it. She studied the portrait more closely.

"My Grandmother, Francis. She married a man named Harold Scott, and had a daughter with him. People always said that Eleanor resembled her grandmother in spirit. Mother didn't know or care about the gravity of what really went on in Haven. However the Driscolls did." A long tan arm reached out to the plain child sitting in the center of the picture. "This was Emmett Driscoll, who was the Rev's father."

Audrey stepped back from the painting, not really surprised that Julia Carr was standing in front of her. "I thought you went back to Africa?"

"I did, and then The Rev wrote to me asking me for help. He promised that if I would come back, he would do his best to shield me from what went on in the town. That we would make it safe for everyone again." Julia's voice was calm, but her eyes were dead. "Imagine my surprise when I came back to find him dead, and that my best friend in Haven had killed him."

"Julia, he was going to kill a little girl!" Audrey protested.

Julia closed the distance between them. "A little girl that was a man-eater. A little girl whose family was already responsible for one person's death. Did you forget that part?" she hissed.

Audrey stood her ground, having nowhere to go but grateful that her position put her back to the imposing painting. "Dwight found a place for all of them to live until the troubles are over. They won't harm anyone now."

The dark haired woman snorted. "Is that what you believe? That Dwight just conveniently found them a place to live where they couldn't harm anyone?" she stalked back to the desk that was tucked into a corner of the room. On it were pictures, lots of pictures of various things. Julia studied the scattered photographs for a moment before selecting three of them.

"Your cleaner failed to remove the stain on their souls," the other woman said as she turned back toward Audrey. In her hand, carefully spread so that most of each picture was visible was a horrifying scene. In one a dark haired little girl crouched over the body of a dead man, ripping the flesh from his arm with her teeth. In another, two older girls were covered in blood while they were in the process of stripping another man to bones. The third one was a shot of the middle girl, the one that had had the boyfriend. It had obviously not been a celibate relationship as her belly was rounded out into an all too telling curve; she must have been pregnant before they ever met the girls.

"The slaughter house Dwight sent them to had workers, you know. Did you honestly think that they would be able to overcome their bloodlust for human flesh and only daintily sup on livestock? The pregnant one had already tasted human meat. She couldn't be saved no matter where you locked her up. She was already mad and turned cannibal. That girl infected her sisters, so that even they, too, changed into the Wendigos in truth. It was a mercy for all of them that I had them put down before they could kill any more men. The only thing I regret is that Duke couldn't do it. That curse will still be alive to haunt their blood line. There are others that may still be infected with it. If he had seen what they'd done he would understand the need Haven has for his unique talents."

Audrey jerked her head at that. "You knew Duke was troubled?"

"We suspected it. The Rev asked me to get to know him, and encouraged our relationship. He wanted me to hang around Duke, see if I couldn't work to get him to realize what problems we had. It was a pity that he only wanted to get out of Haven and see the world. He used to be quite the dreamer, you know. He wanted to make something better of himself." Julia looked down. "I used to love him for it, but I see that his apple didn't fall far from his daddy's tree. Something in the Crocker line breeds deadbeats and scoundrels truer than anything else." Julia's distaste for the smuggler was plain.

"You dated Duke so the Rev could have influence on him?" Audrey asked. Duke seemed to believe that the affection Julia had offered had been genuine, not feigned.

Julia shrugged. "That and he was the second cutest boy in school, and Miranda Johnson was already dating Nathan by the time I realized boys didn't have cooties." Julia smiled. It wasn't a pretty one. "The Rev knew what Duke would become. And the young are easily molded. I was supposed to find him in town and restart our relationship. He'd never been particularly strong, morally, you know, and we'd evidence, pun intended, that he would go to stupid lengths for those he loved." She looked Audrey up and down slowly. "Or convinced himself that he loved."

The blonde woman gritted her teeth. She needed to keep Julia talking for a few more moments. "What, are you jealous of me?"

Julia shook her head. "No, I feel sorry for you. Duke only wants what he can't have. Now that he's had you, he'll stick around for awhile until the next impossible challenge shows up. I intend to be that challenge. He won't be able to stop himself because he's got a fundamentally weak character. As such he'll have to prove me wrong. I forgot you never had a real mother to give you such sage advice as make the boy chase you until you catch him. One of the few things my mother was right about.

"I also don't intend to take chances. I'll return to Haven grief-stricken for the loss of my one friend and let him comfort me. Don't worry, you won't be around to see it. Duke however will be furious with grief over the Troubled who took you away from him, and Nathan will be furious with him, since we decided to make it look like Duke had a hand in the matter. It shouldn't be hard to get him to see reason after Nathan runs him out of town. We'll return him to the fold to be a good and obedient member of the flock."

Julia removed syringe from her pocket and deftly uncapped it. "I'd had hopes that we'd be able to use you to control him, or at least use you to get close to the troubled, but sadly you seem to share the same messiah issues that your mother had. Not everyone can be saved, Audrey, and some don't deserve to be. Don't worry, the Wendigo girl's murdering streak ended with those two men, so you can die knowing that at least you are only responsible for them only killing two people." She pulled back on the plunger and drew air into the barrel.

Audrey felt, more than heard, the lock on the cuffs behind her back let loose. The other Audrey Parker was not the only one that could pick cuffs behind her back. Before Julia could inject her with the air, Audrey lashed out with a fist and dogged the other woman in the head. With the other hand she grabbed at the wrist holding the syringe and pressed on the tendons until the dark haired woman was left with no choice but to let go.

Julia shook her head and bit at Audrey's exposed wrist, but the blonde danced out of the way, releasing the other woman's arm. Julia charged at Audrey, and Audrey turned aside and tripped the woman. There was a loud thud as Julia's petite frame hit the ancient floor. The loose floorboards jumped at the impact and a large book case tottered, then fell over, spilling books over the floor.

The noise brought a concerned voice from the hallway, and the officer that had brought Audrey to Julia came rushing in to see what the commotion was. He saw his boss laying on the floor with Audrey free, and running for the door. She rushed out of it, but he grabbed the long strands of her hair and yanked her back into the room. Julia regained her feet and picked up the syringe. "Hold her," the other woman commanded.

Audrey's head was wrenched backwards as the officer kicked out her knees and forced her to her to the floor. She tried to pull her head free of his grasp, but he held tight. As Julia approached, Audrey suddenly stopped fighting, going slack. The officer loosened the grip on her hair, in that moment and tried to get a more firm grasp around her neck. It was the moment Audrey needed as she pitched forward suddenly knocking him off balance as he grabbed for her once again.

The Haven officer jumped to her feet and stomped them man hard in his most sensitive area. He curled up and gasped. Julia lunged and Audrey threw her in a classic judo throw. As soon as she was free of her two assailants she took to her heels and ran through the house, trying to find a door that lead to the outside. Behind her she could hear Julia's feet pounding on the old wood.

Audrey eliminated the first two doors she saw as being too narrow and too close to the center of the house to possibly be the way out. The next hallway junction she saw she turned right. She picked a door at random and found a staircase behind it, and seeing Julia out of the corner of her eye, she decided up was as go as out. She bolted up the stairs and found what appeared to be what had once been the servants wing of the house. She bolted down the long hallway, trying doors at random until she found one that opened. It led her into a small, cramped room with a single window.

Soft running footsteps could be heard down the hallway. She wrenched at the window, trying to get it to open. After an agonizing moment, she realized the simple lock on the window was thrown, and she quickly twisted it to release the window. She tried to open it again and it lurched halfway open, then stopped. Audrey tried to force it open more, but it wouldn't budge, held in place by the warping of the sill and frame around it.

"I have to lay off the cupcakes when I get back," she muttered to herself as she tried to pull herself out of the window. It took much wriggling, but she eventually forced her way out of the window and fell into a yew bush below. Not the most graceful exit, perhaps, but definitely preferential over staying in the house with the politely murderous Julia Carr. She bolted into the trees and headed to where the river roared in the distance figuring that if nothing else, the water would mask the noise she made running through the brush.

As she ran, however, she came across a railroad track. She debated. She could run to the river or run along the track. The track would likely hide her footsteps better, having only gravel, metal, and wooden ties on which to leave a mark. She was not expert on navigating the woods of Maine, and as such feared that she could and had already left enough signs of her presence that any one with any knowledge of the forest could track. But the track was an open area that wouldn't give her any place to hide should she need it.

However it was likely to end up going somewhere with someone who could help her get out of wherever she was and back to Haven. She didn't exactly know what Julia's plans were, but she did know that the other woman was right about something. Duke would be furious, as would Nathan, if something had happened to her.

After a moment more weighing her decisions she decided to run on the tracks, and she ran along the rails and ties as fast as she could, needing to get back to Haven before something tragic happened.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Ain't posting more until someone reviews this chapter. _


	32. Closer

Back in Haven

When Nathan had said "Jess, you've got to get out of here. Being cooped up in here with me isn't healthy for you. Talk a walk. Go home and take a bath" she hadn't wanted to listen to his words. The look in Nathan's eyes asked her to leave so he could feel less guilty, though, so she kissed him on the cheek and told him she'd be back in a while.

It would probably disappoint Nathan, but she had no intention of going home. Instead she pulled out her cell phone when she reached the Gull's parking lot and called the police station, asking to speak to Stan. When the curious officer got on the line, she asked him about Audrey's apartment.

"I don't know, Jess. It might be still considered a crime scene. Did you ask Nathan about it?"

She hadn't, of course. "Yes."

"Well, if he thought it was okay..." Stan still sounded doubtful.

"If I find anything that looks like evidence I'll put it aside for you," Jess told him, trying to sound serious.

"Thanks."

Shaking her head, she stuffed the phone into her pocket before heading up to Audrey's apartment. There wasn't anything she could do to help rescue Audrey, but she could make sure that her friend didn't come home to the mess that left Nathan looking haunted when he described it.

Broken glass crunched underfoot, making her glad for once that it was boot weather, not sandal. It didn't take her long to spy the cleaning supplies that Audrey had bought just before being kidnapped, and she put them to good use.

After an hour the apartment looked how she'd imagined that Audrey kept it, not that she'd ever had occasion to be in it before._ Even if it's not exactly what it should be, this is better than her coming home to a mess_, Jess thought as she surveyed her handiwork. Then, struck by a sudden pang, she silently added, _please let her come home soon_.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile<p>

It turned out that East Millinocket did not have any boat launches on the Penobscot river. Duke and Dwight had to overshoot the little town to enter Millinocket, and then walk back to East Millinocket. It was a long walk, and both men were irritable and tired at the end of it. Still, then entered the small town with high hopes, then took a long walk down one of the central roads, hoping to find a store or something to get a drink, and find Audrey.

"I think they really like trees here," Dwight offered.

Duke just snorted. The last few roads had all been named after various kinds of trees, and it appeared that this was a very arboreally-centered town. Still, it was pretty enough. Looking at the well kept lawns and houses, Duke thought that it must be a quiet little community, but one that was reasonably prosperous. Little being the operative word. A small town map they found posted at a walking trail showed it had about 26 streets laid out in a grid pattern, with a series of railroad tracks on the southern end of town. They had been walking down Church street, one of the few streets not named for a tree in the whole town.

Eventually they two found themselves at a small convenience store. It looked like a home that had been converted, and apartments could be had for rent above the main shop floor. The front of the store was nicely decorated with hanging baskets, but the windows behind them were lined with ads for cigarettes and beer. The two trudged up the cement stairs that lead to the shop and a small bell dinged cheerfully as they entered. The clerk at the counter looked up briefly, inspecting the two before returning to his conversation.

Duke and Dwight made their way to the back of the store, where the coolers were kept. As they studied the vast selection of Coke products in the cooler, both listened to the chatter of the men behind.

"I tell you that was some wreck. Poor Phil's neck was broken and Paul's throat was nearly cut to his spine. Blood was everywhere. Mary, though, she wanted the moose meat, so I went and got the carcass for her," said the man at the counter, who was drinking a beer.

The clerk, a ragged man about sixty, grunted in response. "And having a moose rack up on your wall had nothing to do with it, I suppose."

"Well, can't let it go to waste, now can I? And it was already dead anyway. Wasn't like it was hunted out of season. But anyway, that's not the funny thing. The funny thing is this – That blonde the Driscoll kid wanted, well she was supposed to be in that car and wasn't. That pissed off Lew, I can tell you. I don't know why he was all hot and bothered about it. Well anyway turns out that she walked right into town as nice as you please. Asked for help and Lew went over and just picked her up from his girl's aunt's house. Was going to drive her over to the Driscoll place out side of town by Route 137. Lew will get a mighty big payoff from the Driscolls for that piece of work."

The clerk grunted again, then flicked his eyes at Duke and Dwight. The two Havenites picked up their caffeinated, carbonated beverages of choice and made their way back through the tight aisles of the store. Dwight paid for both drinks, and Duke kept his head low, trying to hid as much of his face behind his bangs as he could. If the two old men at the counter thought anything of it, they didn't say anything, but that wasn't unusual for Maine. The bell range again cheerfully announcing the departure of the two men.

When they were far enough down the road Duke looked up at Dwight. Dwight simply nodded. The two men began jogging south, where the map had told that Route 137 was also known as Main Street, where they could see the plumes of white smoke from the paper mill.

As the jogged down Beech Street towards Main Street, Dwight asked Duke, "East or west?" Duke recalled the little map. On it, the highway had been on the Eastern side of town, and Main Street had arched off to the west. Not that it mattered much. Locals were as likely to use the highway number as the local street names in identifying anything. Towards the west, though, there had been more roads that lead out of town. That would likely mean that there could have been a greater need to id which road the old man meant. The town line had been nearly on top of where the state highway had been indicated.

"West," he replied, and Dwight nodded.

* * *

><p>Audrey kept running down the tracks, moving as quickly as her feet would take her. Idly she wondered when the next train would come through, and if she dared jump it. The tracks were worn shiny with use, and there were few weeds between the ties. She wondered where Duke and Nathan were, and how long it would take them to sort out Duke being framed. For one insane moment she had a vision of the two of them pumping a cart along the tracks, not that she thought the rail carts were used outside of old movies, mostly westerns.<p>

She laughed to herself at her own fantasy, and her enjoyment of the vision of the two men's posteriors as they pumped the lever of the cart. She was amused that Duke's roving eye guaranteed that she could enjoy her partner's…other qualities. Still, she knew that her knight in shining armor and her swashbuckling pirate were not likely to get her out of this. How could they when even she didn't know where she was? Why had Julia dragged her out to this little town. Why had she not confronted them in Haven.

After a moment she realized why. Because even if Julia had managed to remove Duke and Nathan, there were stilled the Troubled themselves to deal with. She recalled how Stan had known who she was even without the two of them ever meeting. It was better for Haven that they had this confrontation away from the innocent victims who would defend Audrey, perhaps even to the death. This was a war, and like any good general, she had to plot how to win with the fewest amounts of casualties.

Her footsteps faltered as breath sobbed through her chest. She was getting tired of running. The woman slowed down, and began to walk. Long distance running wasn't one of her strengths, though she was fast over shorter distances. When she had mentioned her morning runs through Haven, Duke had given her a look that clearly telegraphed his disenchantment with the idea. And then he had provided her a few excuses not to go on those morning tours, so she was worse at it than she had been.

Eventually she drew to a full stop, and listened to the sounds around her. The squirrels were chattering in the trees and the birds were generally singing loudly. There was no sound of pursuit, so she decided walking was the best avenue right now, at least until she'd caught her breath. The tracks were carrying her east to west, and she was staring to smell an unpleasant odor in the air. It was a sickly, chemical smell. It wasn't something that she'd ever smelled before, and she was starting to wish that that she had never made that smells acquaintance. As she continued walking the breeze was driving it toward her. It was getting to epic stench levels and making her eyes water. Still, she kept walking towards the source of the smell. It was likely that whatever was causing that smell would have someone that could help her.

The trees began to thin out, and through them she could see other lines of tracks and sidings. In the distance, where all the tracks seemed to merge together, she saw a large compound with one large white building, which in turn had several smoke stacks belching white vapor into the air. Clustered near the base of the building were white bundles stacked in neat cubes, with only the occasional flash of color. In the far distance she realized that what she thought had been the sound of the river getting closer again, was the almost subsonic hum of a large locomotive engine. Although she could not see it, she could see the partial line of box cars waiting patiently for whatever the large building produced to fill their empty containers.

Without hesitation, Audrey headed for the box cars. Trains went places, and this building, whatever it was, was too close to East Millinocket to be sure that there wouldn't be others of Julia's mindset present. The train was likely owned and run by someone else, and thus the safer course of action.

The detective found it surprising that there was only minimal fencing around the plant, which was easily scaled. There was no roving guards, and the over-tired mind thought that really, the smell was enough of a deterrent. Despite the noise coming from the train, there was no one in sight. She looked around the various cars and looked until she found one that was filled with only three small aisles for a person to move through. Inside packed neatly were pallets and pallets of boxes marked with a company logo. East Millinocket must have sprung up around the paper mill. It really was a town that paper built.

She picked the left hand aisle and settled down in the back where there was a small gap where the pallet couldn't be packed up next to the wall due to the way the car was reinforced. It did afford her a small hiding spot. She tucked herself in as best she could, and settled back to wait. She was slightly dismayed when the train lurched and started to take her in the direction she had so recently come from, back to the west.

* * *

><p>Dwight and Duke had searched the southern most road out of East Millinocket. Dwight grimaced as the wind blew the scent of the paper plant towards them. "That is a truly awful smell," he commented.<p>

Duke snorted, but didn't respond. He'd been singularly focused on finding Audrey. If Nathan had been there, he likely would have been surprised at the doggedness Duke was showing. In the distance they could hear the huff and rhythmical clacking of a train picking up speed and leaving town. The faint outline of the box cars could be seen through the trees and Dwight counted half a hundred cars before the last one clattered off.

Duke hadn't noticed the train, and at this point Dwight thought that the young man wouldn't likely notice a rifle slug between the eyes. He recalled the soft voiced conversation with Nathan, the other man drugged and in pain when Dwight happened by. The detective had been waiting for an operating theater to open up. Dwight had been at the hospital when Nathan had been brought in. His normal role of "town janitor" occasionally did require that he clean things up, and those things were not just issues caused by the Troubled.

Nathan had been quiet, at least he had been until he had seen Dwight. The cleaner had been shocked to see the detective laying still and pale on a gurney. Nathan had barely been coherent when he ordered Dwight to find Duke and stop him, and Dwight doubted he'd been conscious much since. Originally the man thought Nathan meant him to "clean" Duke up, getting rid of the particularly thorny issue for the Troubled population of Haven. Something of his resolve must have shown in his face because Nathan had reached out to weakly grab his arm.

"No, don't. He'll kill himself. Too damn stupid. Like with Evi," the younger man panted out. As part of the fix-it job he did for the two officers, he'd had to substitute some of the police surveillance footage. He'd seen through the grainy film the madness that had set in after Evi died, and how Nathan had protected Duke the only way he could at that point. Duke had been beyond reason, and had only bloody minded vengeance on his mind. He'd seen and heard courtesy of the audio pick up in the holding cells how Duke had tried to con Nathan into believing that he would be viable back up. Later on, after he'd broken into Audrey's apartment, he'd seen Duke focused to the point of tunnel vision as he had cased the apartment.

Nathan was right, Duke wouldn't have survived very long alone. Or worse, he would have been captured and turned into a weapon against the Troubled population. Vince had sworn Dwight to secrecy about Duke, but he wished that he'd had the time to have the rest of that discussion with him. Who knew what would happen now that Crocker had been exposed to his blood. Nothing good, he thought.

Dwight wondered if Duke realized that he was terrifying if given enough time to plan. The man could come up with the most byzantine plans, plots within plots within plots. When the two had made the agreement regarding investigating Simon Crocker's box, Dwight knew that Duke had begun planning. Dwight had thought that when Audrey had shown up that fateful day on Cape Rouge, it would upset Duke's plans, as the man was already off-balance by the contents of the box. He forgot that Duke always could be trusted to protect his own interests, much to his own chagrin.

However if it had enough emotional impact, Duke changed. He thought that perhaps that it would be a good thing if he never got on this other side of Duke. In his dark eyes was not the bright, genial light that convinced Audrey that her pirate was a good man at heart, the light that remained up until Duke's eyes silvered over as he absorbed Dwight's blood. Instead it was something darker. It reminded Dwight of the CIA operatives he had occasionally run into in Afghanistan, the ones that were whispered to be more assassin than spy. Dwight was somewhat nervous more that without Audrey, no one would be able to control the volatile young man. If that was the case, than Nathan was right, and Duke would be dead sooner rather than later.

The big blond man hadn't really wanted to get involved in this mess. These people shouldn't have been his friends, especially not the one that may one day kill him to save him. Yet here they all were, and now not only was he involved, he was stuck protecting the one man that he had wanted to kill. The one that was supposed to rain doom and destruction down on the Troubled and turn into a serial killer. The one that had served the Rev in the Wendigo hunt. The one that had barely slept since Audrey was taken, that had no plan because he was so upset, and the one that had no plan when he always had more than a few Aces in his sleeve.

Duke pushed on ahead, moving in a tireless wolf's lope. They'd searched down the street, each man taking a side and looking at the names on the mailboxes interspersed down the road. None had carried the name Driscoll. That hadn't stopped either of them. They continued back up the road headed west. The two men realized that something important was happening, though when a police car, siren caroling through the air, came tearing down the road. At first the two didn't much notice it but when in moments that same car came back with two friends, the men realized that something happened. Further down the long, straight stretch of road the three cars caused gravel to fly as they all took hard turns into a dirt driveway.

It took some time to get there, and Dwight was reminded of training runs and sprints. Duke had gotten there first, his long legs were faster over the mile of road than Dwight's. When he did lumber down the road, Duke grabbed him and the two hid behind a large hedge at the end of the driveway. There was a look of vicious triumph on his face when he said, "Audrey escaped."

* * *

><p>Audrey came to the sad realization that this was just not her day. She had only a few moments to figure out if it would be better to take the train to who knows where or get off and try to continue making her way by foot. The train was likely going to get here clear of this place, but damn, she thought for sure it would be headed south. Just once she'd like things to go right. She suddenly understood her boyfriend's Machiavellian machinations for situations like this.<p>

The train continued to pick up speed, and she knew that if she was going to get off, it would have to be soon. She took a deep breath, and tried to weigh her options. Just for once she didn't want to have to be a self-rescuing princess. Her knight in shining armor and her swashbuckling pirate could show up any time now. Really. It would be fine.

She never could explain what she did next. She unstuck herself from the narrow space she'd gotten herself wedged into, and winched open the heavy steel door. Trees briskly passed her, the train already moving faster than what she would be able safely dismount. Audrey resigned herself to a trip to nowhere when the train started slowing down. She peered around the edge of the door, and saw the trees had once again thinned out, and heard a loud horn crying. She realized the train was likely passing through another town, and though it was taking a while, it was slowing down. The train yelled out again, and jerked, slowing noticeably. This town, whatever it was, must have had a limit on how fast the trains could go through. The train was slowing down to a quick running pace. Audrey closed her eyes and threw herself out of a perfectly good train.

She rolled down an embankment, and had a split second vision of rolling down the big hill at the elementary school where Audrey II had gone at one of her foster homes. She came to a dizzy stop about ten feet away from the track. The blonde waited a few moments to recover her equilibrium, and when she was sure that ground was not going to spin away from her feet, Audrey stood up and dusted the dead grass and dirt off of her clothes.

The slightly dizzy woman climbed back up the embankment and watched as the train pulled itself down the tracks. She could see a chain-link fence start a little bit down the track, probably to discourage people jumping on the trains. Audrey didn't want to think about what an abrupt stop against the fence would have felt like. From the hill she could see down the tracks and see the river in the distance.

Audrey walked down the tracks on the other side of the fence. The blonde detective walked towards the quiet town. She crossed over the tracks when she came to the railroad crossing, and headed to the river. Maybe if she was polite, someone would be let her borrow cell phone. She'd sit in a corner and call Duke. He would come and get her, she was sure of it. Then she would find a Dunkin' Donuts somewhere and drink coffee until this awful day ended.

* * *

><p>Duke laughed silently. Audrey had managed to save herself from whatever fate that was planned for her. He grinned at Dwight. His girl had been busy. The two of them watched from behind the hedge and Duke could not help but smile. The angry cursing from the two cops that had been sitting in the drive way could have been the most pleasant music. The men gathered in the driveway were trying to organize a search for the missing woman, some were crashing through the brush and yelling that she wasn't in the woods. One was trying to hush the others, calling for a search dog. Duke felt like his face was going to split open. Only Audrey could drive people to this level of madness. He was rather glad that for once, it hadn't involved him.<p>

Dwight crashed into Duke and the two men fell together under the bush, which decided that the two of them together were too much to support. It let go with sharp crack, and Dwight groaned. Duke felt what little air there was left in his lungs leave it as all of Dwight's considerable weight landed on him. Duke tried to shove the other man off and heard the bush rustle behind him, then heard it cracked several times more in quick succession. The smuggler figured that they must have just done some severe damage to the bush to have it make all of the racket, then tried again to push Dwight off of him. His efforts were met with a growl and an order to stay down.

"I'm not your mattress, get OFF!" Duke punctuated his displeasure with a heave that failed to shift the man more than a few inches.

Dwight was being obstinate about this whole thing, seemed to press his weight further into Duke. After a moment though the huge man lurched up and grabbed the other man, nearly picking him up bodily by the shirt. Duke was set down the minute his feet were firmly underneath him. When another branch broke, Duke's eyes widened as he realized that it wasn't the shrubbery making that noise, and that a bush was a very poor substitute for kevlar.

Sasquatch must have seen the realization in Duke's eyes. "I think that we've been found, and they don't much like us here," he grinned. The bullet magnet flinched as something whizzed by, and then he took off running. In the distance he could hear the shouting of the men, and hear them start the police cars. "We may want to leave," he said, unnecessarily in Duke's opinion.

"Please don't tell me you think this is fun?" Duke asked, flying quickly down the street, and following Dwight as the other man ran into the woods.

Dwight grinned maniacally at the younger man. "Ok, I won't."

"Buddha save me, I've fallen in with a lunatic," Duke muttered. He had no more breath to spare as he tried to follow Dwight through the twisting forest. The plants seemed to grab at his legs, and he wondered if that old couple was fighting again somewhere near by. It would be the only thing that explained why so much of the vegetation was determined to trip him. The third time he face-planted into the forest floor, Dwight offered to carry him over his shoulder. The suggestion Duke made to that suggestion wasn't anatomically feasible for most men. But maybe Dwight was really, really flexible.

The only good thing that they had going for them was that at least with everyone chasing them, Audrey wouldn't be pursued. He wondered why the men had started shooting, and then, seeing Sasquatch lumbering along in front of him, wondered if one of the over eager thugs had seen Dwight's hair and been confused. Duke chuckled breathlessly at that thought. He doubted that the giant man could in anyway be mistaken for a woman that could only have been described as petite. More likely one of the thugs recognized Dwight and started firing on principle. Duke knew that at times during this ill-fated expedition he'd wanted to shoot the cleaner too.

Duke tried to supply his lungs with more air and was finding it difficult. He also wasn't happy about being behind the bullet magnet with bullets coming from behind him and those bullets being drawn toward the figure in front of him. It didn't seem a good position to be in. He'd much rather be in front of the other man, well away from the flying projectiles. Case in point, the tree branch that just smacked him in the face because of the bullet that slammed into it.

The smuggler scrambled down a hill, and then realized Dwight was gone. He paused for a moment, searching for any sign of the other man's passing; a swaying branch or footprint in the soft earth. He heard a hissing sound and saw Dwight beckon him to from a sheltered crevice among the rocks. Duke turned and followed him. It wasn't much shelter and Duke tried to still his gasping, especially as it looked like if he didn't, Dwight would do it for him. They huddled down, and listened to the chase pass them by. Three men came crashing nearly into them, yet somehow completely missing them. Dwight grinned, seemingly enjoying this maddening game of hide and go seek.

Duke was about to break cover when Dwight pulled him down again, and another two people bulled their way through the underbrush. This time it was a man and a woman. The dark-haired man's breath caught in his throat as he saw the woman. Julia Carr bent nearly double, trying to catch her breath. Her lackey raced on ahead, then seeing his boss stopped, doubled back to her. The radio crackled at his belt and he answered it curtly. The other men were spreading out in the woods, however their prey had disappeared.

"Don't harm Crocker. I don't care what you do with the Neanderthal, but don't damage Duke!" she ordered.

The lackey relayed the order and after a bit more static, relayed that Audrey Parker had also not yet been found. Julia cursed and then set out running again. He watched his high school girlfriend numbly, thinking that yes, she'd know the whistle well, especially as she'd given it to him. It was from one of her first stints in Doctors Without Borders, and was from an organization that attempted to rehabilitate Congolese child soldiers. She'd given it to him years ago, and he'd worn it with pride to celebrate her successes.

Dwight and Duke stayed in the rocks for a quarter of an hour, and then Dwight started in with hand signals, motioning emphatically. Duke gave single, eloquent one of his own, and Dwight grinned.

"The river can't be far from here, just a bit to the south and east. We can follow it to the road, then see if we can't make our way home. Audrey's probably there," the man whispered.

"Ah, won't they be looking for us there?" Duke asked, annoyed.

"Nope. They think we went to the woods. Probably don't know that we know there's a road out of here," Dwight said quietly.

Duke nodded after a moment, thinking, it can hardly be worse than running headlong through the woods, and the two set off. The faster they were out of the woods, the faster they'd be getting away from the people trying to kill them.

It was amazing how much more swiftly and silently they were able to move now that they weren't running hell for leather through the woods. It took a little back tracking, and Dwight once had to climb a tree, but they were able to find the road. The marched on down it, heading back into Millinocket proper. Duke thought that their luck would hold them until they got back to Millinocket proper. It wasn't as if the doc was far away from the edge of the town.

They were nearly all the way into town when more gun fire announced that their luck had once again run out.


	33. Water Rising

Audrey had been searching through her pockets for enough change to get an iced coffee. She originally thought it strange that people here drank iced coffee all year long, but she mused, you just got used to it and ignored it or joined in. Stopped her search though when she heard the shots ring out. They were fairly far away from her, back towards East Millinocket. They likely spelled trouble for someone, and she was pretty sure it was her. Still, she couldn't turn her back on the people in trouble.

The blonde woman ran towards the shots that were being fired, and eventually saw two men being chased through the woods. Each time they tried to turn towards the town, the shots rang out. She could tell that they were being herded, being sent deeper in the forest every time they tried to head to the river.

One of the men stopped, turned, and then tried to spring back towards his attacker. As he cleared the distance between two trees, she could see it was her pirate. The look of rage on his face was terrifying. Moments later the other man turned and grabbed Duke by the back of his shirt. She actual saw Nathan for a moment, she wanted to believe it so much. Still, Nathan had never been so broad of shoulder and could not, to the best of her knowledge, pick up Duke by the scruff of his shirt neck with one arm. Even from the distance she was at she could hear Dwight call the other man an idiot.

Audrey felt a stab of pain as she wondered where Nathan was. But perhaps she just split up from the other two and would be present. Maybe he got away or running a distraction somewhere else. She couldn't think for any reason why Dwight would be with Duke, and why the blond would have tried to save Duke from anything. To the best of her knowledge, the man had last been trying to kill Duke.

She ran into the woods, trusting on Dwight to attract any stray bullets to protect her. She yelled to the two men and she was stared at by two men that abruptly changed direction and charged toward her. Duke was yelling to her, motioning frenetically to the river. He then dived once more in that direction and ignored the bullet that tore the bark off the tree next to his head. Dwight turned at the same time and kept Duke in front of him, reaching out a hand to push the man forward. Audrey ran and reached the object, which she could now see was a small set of docks which jutted out like so many fingers into the water. Riding quietly on the waves was the Celeste, Duke's much smaller, yet more versatile boat.

She ran to the older boat and ducked into the cabin. Duke, for all his criminal tendencies and history, suffered from the same trust disease that seemed to afflict many residents of small towns. He'd not gone so far as to leave the keys in the ignition, but she did find them in the coffee cup at the helm. She pushed the key into the ignition and turned it, hearing the boat's engine's come to life with a throaty roar.

The boat actually rocked heavily in the water when the Dwight hit the deck and rolled, bullets continuing to fly around. Duke had stayed on the dock, quickly freeing the lines tethering the boat to its moorings. He leapt on to the deck and quickly took the wheel, moving the boat out of the narrow confines of the dock and into the water of the river.

"Wait, where's Nathan?" Audrey asked, worried that they were leaving behind her partner.

Duke shot a panicked glance at Dwight, and there was a moment of silent communication between the men. The cleaner answered, "Nathan was detained in Haven. It's just me and Duke."

She didn't know what that meant, and she was worried that it meant nothing good for her partner. She couldn't, or rather didn't want to consider what would cause Duke to have that look on his face, and refuse to answer the question. She didn't really have time to ponder it though because there were still gunshots coming from shore. Even as they went out into the water the men were on the shore, still firing and trying release a boat from its moorings to chase them.

Duke was ducking reflexively as he heard the shots. Audrey was comforted by the solid knowledge that Dwight was there. The bullets would arc away from their trajectory towards him, and he responded to this by standing out on the small deck behind the pilot house. He grabbed his crossbow from the deck and began firing back, launching the quarrels at the men trying to release the boat. Unfortunately, the men were not deterred, even though one of them had been hit. Even more unfortunate was that crossbow was somewhat a slower weapon to reload than the guns the other men carried. The men freed the craft and the outboard motor chugged to life, then began maneuvering it away from the docks.

* * *

><p>Duke pushed the boat until it aligned with the river, and then started heading upstream. "Duke, I may not be all that great with geography, but isn't that the wrong way?" she asked.<p>

The dark haired man nodded. "The Celeste is made for close shore ocean travel, I'm betting she's got more power than that little thing they are trying to chase us down in. Where they're going to have the advantage is the draft. That thing can't ride nearly as deep in the water as we have to. I'm hoping we can get far enough that either they have to give up because the river gets too rough or too strong or they run out of gas."

"What if they don't?" she asked.

"I'll worry about that later." Duke kept the boat heading up, and for a while it seemed like his plan was working. The little boat with the outboard was falling further and further behind. However Duke didn't look happy about this fact. In fact, he was starting to look down right pissed. He pushed the throttle forward and grimaced as he felt the boat's reaction. He spared a moment to look ahead, and his face went even whiter. "Aw shit."

Dwight ducked into the pilot house. "What?"

"Dwight, when you said something went 'thunk' and the boat didn't sink, were you just teasing me?" Duke asked, somewhat irritated.

Dwight looked at Duke as though he lost his mind. "No. I told you, something went thunk. But I figured it wasn't a big deal."

"Crap," was Duke's succinct reply.

"It was a big deal?" Dwight asked.

"It was a big deal," Duke replied.

"Um, are we sinking?" Audrey asked. She wasn't enamored of the thought of taking on water in a gun fight.

"Ah, no, I don't think so. If we are, it's slow. She's just not responding right. She's at max throttle. She should be flying and she's not. Something's not right. I have to go down below deck and pop the engine panel. Maybe something just got knocked loose. Audrey, do your best to avoid the rocks ahead."

The look on his face told her that it was likely a lost cause, and that the one thing he really hadn't wanted to happen had, of course, come to pass. The river was getting un-navigable to them because the boat couldn't skim over the rocks which she could see thrusting up in the water like the tiny boat behind them.

* * *

><p>Dwight was still trying to provide cover fire for the crew of the Celeste against the now slowly gaining boat behind them. The rocking of the waves and the jerking of the boat around the rocks was ruining his aim was rendering it ineffectual at best. Duke noted this absently as he ducked down below into the small galley below, anxious to get to the engine panel which was accessible through a trapdoor in the decking.<p>

He braced a hand against the ceiling as he stooped, jogging down the short flight of stairs below. There wasn't enough room below to swing a cat, or rather a haddock in the small room below decks. A small rack of shelves that mostly stood empty with a few large boxes and a cooler faced down a sink and small stove. The Celeste had not been built for more than a day or two away from the docks.

Duke quickly crossed the three steps to the hatch when a tremendous crash announced Audrey had found a rock. It caused the whole boat to shift, and the fiberglass groaned threateningly. The shelving behind him collapsed, sending the boxes and their contents flying. The cooler shifted off the bottom shelf and nearly took Duke's feet from under him as it caught him behind the knees. The brown haired man cursed vehemently and kicked it back, violently. Another lurch announced Audrey was playing pinball with his boat and using the rocks as bumpers.

This time it was the opposite side of the hull, and Duke went staggering backward, once again tripping over the cooler and this time kicking it to its side, where it unlatched and large, lumpy somethings tumbled out. Duke heard the clatter as he tried to whirl his arms, trying catch his balance and failing miserably. He crashed down. More cursing followed as he felt something stab and then scrap up his calf. He instinctively put a hand down on top of the deep scratch, which he realized had been caused by the broken bracket that had held the cooler's shelf.

Duke was on the verge of grabbing the cooler and throwing it up the stairs and overboard when he realized what was inside. Nathan had mentioned that he wanted to bury his father at sea so that no one could disturb The Chief's rest again. He must have had someone load the cooler onto the little boat and was planning to "commandeer" the boat to do it. The chief wasn't even alive and was still trying to take him out, he thought, followed quickly by what a waste of a good cooler.

Defiant of any animosity the chief may have felt for the smuggler in life, Duke was determined to treat the old man's remains with respect. He carefully gathered up the pieces, trying vainly to wipe the blood off pieces he picked up with hand that had clamped down on his injury. He gently restored them to the cooler and shoved the cooler under the sink. He hoped that the weak latch on the cabinet would hold against any more impacts.

Duke shook his head, and headed back to the hatchway. He popped the small door in the flooring that had the handle to pull up the larger trapdoor below. When he yanked it up he secured it with a small latch. The last thing he needed was the thing flopping down and knocking him out when, and not if, Audrey hit another rock.

As he stuck his head down the narrow hole, he realized that Audrey had been right. They had been slowly sinking. The water was flooding the engine compartment, but not so much that the engine ceased to run. From his angle he could see that the fiberglass of the hull had cracked, and there was a slow, but steady stream of water was seeping in through the hull. All the extra weight of the water was no doubt hindering the boat, and screwing with some of the engine mechanics.

What was odd was that the pumps hadn't kicked in, and they should have cleared some of the water from the engine compartment. Duke stuck his head further into the compartment and reached down with a long arm, around some of the machinery, and reaching back up around it to get to the pumps. He could feel the connection to the pump, and it felt like it had come loose. He tried to jam the loose hose onto the nipple of the pump when the third rock of the day impacted the boat. It punched through the crack and suddenly the water poured in. The smuggler pulled back, sputtering as the water quickly came up to his mouth and tried to swamp him. His hand caught in the intricate piping, trapped him.

He tried again to free his hand, twisting it in all the directions he could to free himself. The water continued to rise, and covered his mouth, then quickly his nose. Above that, he could hear Audrey and Dwight yelling about something. The water rose up to his eyes, and he tried again to free his hand. It remained stubbornly wedged in the engine works, perhaps already swelling from the abuse it was receiving as he tried to free it. The water was going to be up to his shoulders soon, and Duke knew that he was likely going to drown in his own boat.

* * *

><p>Audrey knew something had gone horribly wrong when the last rock impacted. The boat had almost come to a lurching halt, and started tumbling down the river without any power. The current caught the boat, merrily tossing it down stream, shooting it past the startled gun men on the tiny boat. It clipped them as it passed, upsetting the boat and causing it to fill with water. She looked back over her shoulder and saw the men frantically bailing water out of their little craft. At least one problem had been solved momentarily. Still, it couldn't be good that suddenly the boat had lost power like that. She yelled to Dwight, "Do you know what that was?"<p>

He shook his head and answered, "No, but it can't have been good."

She looked back at the wide stretch of water in front of her and saw that they were in imminent danger of hitting more rocks. She spun the wheel, vainly hoping that a rudder or something would turn the boat. It didn't, but Dwight found a long pole laying tucked up to the railing on the boat and ran to the bow to shove the boat away from the rocks. He called back over his shoulder to Audrey. "Go find out what is keeping Duke!"

Audrey spun down away from the useless wheel, and sprinted down to the galley. She saw Duke laying on the decking, his shoulders jerking spasmodically. He kept quivering, but it was growing fainter. She ran over and saw the water in the trapdoor had nearly completely submerged his head. Audrey came around and lay on the floor by his side, taking a deep breath before sticking her own head into the pit. She saw that Duke was conscious, but the panic in his eyes was plain, even with the water. He looked at her and the brief hope in his eyes gave her confidence, even though she was far from sure how he had gotten himself stuck in this predicament, or how she was going to get him out of it.

Dwight missed a rock and it concussed the boat. She could hear Duke's body hit the deck as she went briefly airborne. She saw a gust of bubbles leave his mouth and the hope he had was completely lost to panic. For a few moments he struggled mightily, and Audrey tried vainly to see what he was caught on. She met his eyes, trying to calm him. It was no use and she saw the horrible transformation as his body demanded he take a breath when no air was around him. It was a relief when his eyes closed.

Duke went slack, his body shutting down without oxygen. The only advantage it gave her was she could track his arm down into the inner engine. Audrey cursed his long arms as she had difficulty finding exactly where his hands had gone. She had to come up for air herself before she found that her boyfriend was part Gumby and had managed to twist his arm around some impossible angle. Her hair flowed into her face and eyes as she tried to free his hand from where it was stuck, caught between two pipes. He wasn't going to thank her for the fact that by the time she was done, his knuckles were barked and his wrist would be bruised, but she did work him free.

Audrey was a strong woman, but she had trouble lifting Duke free of the water. She called frantically for Dwight, and was happy when she heard the heavy tread of the ex-Ranger. Together they manhandled the waterlogged man to lay flat on his back. Dwight didn't bother asking questions, just removing the tangle of necklaces from around Duke's neck. Audrey tilted his neck back, and quickly ran a finger around his mouth, flashing on a memory where she had done the same once before, but to make him lose his breath, not restore it to him.

The scared woman turned his head to the side, worried that little water left his mouth and nose. She felt his pulse, still fluttering weakly at his neck and knew that he was not so far gone as to need chest compressions, but if he did slip away that far, Dwight seemed capable of handling it. She sealed her mouth to his, tasting the oily and river water that coated his head. She had to work to try to displace the water from the lungs that had taken it in.

The dark haired man didn't respond to her first two breaths, and she felt again for the pulse, which was still reassuringly present, if worryingly weak. It hadn't been as long as it felt, Audrey tried to console herself. She tried to breathe harder, to force the air into all the intricate pathways of his lungs, and drive out the water. The strong chest rose and fell as she forced air into the lungs.

Dwight straddled the prone man's thighs, his hands interlaced, and for a moment she paused in her breathing. "Don't, he's still..."

The blond considered the blonde. "In case you need to clear his lungs."

Audrey nodded. She returned to her task of convincing Duke he really did enjoy air and wanted to take some in. It took a couple more attempts but with a cough and groan the man attempted to roll on his side. Both of his crew helped him. Less water than Audrey had thought there would be was violently expelled from the man. Audrey and Dwight supported him as he tried to clear his lungs and the distressing blue around his mouth and fingernails was replaced by a much healthier pink. When the boat smashed into another rock in the water, the three hardly even noticed.

Keeping a hand on Duke's shoulder, Audrey looked up at Dwight.

Dwight just shrugged. "We've got to be getting clear of the rocks. We'll get pushed to the shore, I think. I remember Duke had to work to get to the boat to the center of the river and keep it there," he offered quietly.

Duke moaned again and brought his head up to look blearily at Audrey. He tried to say something, but coughed again.

"What was that, Duke?" She asked, leaning down to him, trying futilely to restrain him as he tried to sit up.

Duke held his head in both hands, and scraped some unpleasant taste from his tongue with is teeth and tried again. "I said, Please don't tell me that Sasquatch was kissing me."

Dwight grinned. "Ok, I won't."

Audrey ran a hand down Duke's arm, grateful to feel him warm and alive. She chuckled. Trust him to be worried about something like that. "No, he didn't kiss you or perform rescue breathing. I did."

The smuggler coughed a few more times, then tried to make it to his feet. Audrey wasn't sure if it was better to help him or hinder him. She decided to go with distracting him. "Hey, we're even now. I saved you from drowning."

Duke leaned against the bulkhead. "No we aren't."

"Why?" she asked, curious. "I almost drowned and you saved me, you almost drown and I saved you."

"But you haven't done my laundry or made me coffee," the restaurant owner explained, petulantly.

Dwight shook his head. "No wonder Nathan thinks you two are insufferable."

The three weary crew members stared at each other for a minute, and then started laughing.

* * *

><p>Dwight groaned as he got up, then returned to the bow to see if there were anymore rocks that were about to impact the boat, but didn't find anything that was an immediate threat. The compromised engines hadn't allowed the boat to go up far into the rocky, nearly un-navigable waters. Behind them, he could see the small boat was still being tossed in the white water of the river.<p>

In comparison, the Celeste promenaded down the river, even without being under power. True to his prediction, the sinking vessel was slowly being pushed to the far bank, mercifully farther away from East Millinocket. Behind him he could hear Duke and Audrey slowly speaking. She had toweled him off and seeing to it that he hadn't been harmed by his inadvertent near-drowning. The whirp of a long zipper suggested that Audrey had located the LL Bean backpack that Duke had hauled with them from Haven, and he imagined that if he'd turned to look Audrey would be forcing a dry shirt at Duke.

Duke had had about enough of Audrey's concern, though, and had gotten up and made his way back up to the wheel. He looked around, and noted the boat's direction and course. "We'll hit the far side in about ten minutes if it keeps up," the tired man muttered. "We'll need to figure out what to do."

Audrey considered the far bank. "They'll have the advantage of the land."

"We don't have much choice. Our advantage was the water, and that didn't work out too well." Duke grimaced sourly, shirt hanging limply from a fist. It was obvious to the ex-Ranger that finding Audrey was the limit of what Duke had thought about. He could see the wet, exhausted, and nearly drowned man was trying to force some sort of plan into mind.

"Land won't grant them much advantage if they don't know what their tracking," Dwight offered, grinning. This would be fun. He hadn't been able to play with people like this in a long time. He wasn't fond of being shot at, but he couldn't deny the adrenaline high he experienced when in situations like this. His dad always did think he was a junky for danger.

Duke considered him, his eyes shadowed. "How are you going to do that?'

The big blond man grinned. "Simple. You get off the boat and go left, I get off the boat and go right. We meet up back in Haven."

"Dwight, are you sure?" Audrey asked, reaching up to put a hand out on his arm.

He nodded, his face solemn. "Yeah, this'll be fun." Again the feral grin appeared on his face. "Maybe they'll make a movie of it. The East Millinocket Project."

Duke laughed and shook his head. "Are you sure you are not crazy?"

"Yep," Dwight replied.

Duke sighed and pulled off his wet shirt. "Can I get a photocopy of those papers the government filled out for you?"

Audrey looked like she wanted to ask what he was talking about, but didn't distract him from changing now that she'd won that small battle.

The small crew remained silent as the boat moved closer to shore. Eventually the Celeste was close enough to tie to some of the trees on the bank. Dwight jumped to shore, and caught the rope that Duke threw to him. Together the men tied the craft securely, and then Duke carefully lifted Audrey up over the railing and passed her to Dwight before jumping over the rail himself. Dwight noted that Duke stumbled upon landing.

Duke, Dwight, and Audrey went into the woods together. Dwight knew that if those men were still watching, they needed to look like they were all together. At least for a while. The good news was that will all the pine needles littering the forest floor, the tracks would be hard to follow. He just needed to make it look superficially like the others were with him. So to that end, he broke off two branches and carried them into the woods.

Behind them, he could hear cursing as the gunmen caught up. Fortunately they were near what would be a boulder field, if anything with that many trees could be considered any type of field.

"Listen up, this is where we part ways. I'll go and distract them, lead them off. You two wait here until they are gone. Then try to find a road or something. I'll meet you back in Haven." Dwight knew that the other two needed to get out of the woods, and get away from the crazies. They didn't have any supplies beyond whatever Duke had in his damned backpack, and at least the Army had taught him how to live off the land. The other two would be hopeless at best.

Audrey leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead. "Thank you, Dwight."

Duke tried to hide the flash of jealousy that clouded his eyes, but wasn't too successful. His well wishes were clearly mixed with a warning when he said "See you in Haven." He then took Audrey's hand and retreated with her into the boulder field.

Dwight meanwhile started scuffing the pine needles with the two long tree limbs. Just enough to give a slight disturbance. Then he started yelling, "I told you the road was this way!" He then proceeded to make as much noise as he could, breaking branches and generally creating havoc.

His plan worked. Behind him he could hear the voices of the other men, listening to the excitement as the men behind him thought they had him trapped. He thought about dogs baying after a deer. The dogs behind him were about to find out they were baying after a bear. Around him shots were fired, and Dwight noticed once again the strange behavior of the bullets.

He hadn't been hit by a single one.

They had arced near to him, but hadn't even been grazed, something that hadn't happened since his return from the disastrous stint in Afghanistan. As he ran he hoped that it was because the troubles were coming to an end. Somehow he doubted it though.

* * *

><p><em>an: Remember we said before the end of our version of "Sins of The Fathers" we'd soon be doing terrible things to **two **characters? Nearly drowning Duke wasn't one of those terrible things. You didn't want the story to stop with getting Audrey back, right? The more we hear from you readers, the sooner you'll know what your evil authors have done..._


	34. Bye Bye Bye

"Are you all right?" Audrey hissed when Duke stumbled over a rock for the second time in as many minutes. She was concerned by how tired he looked, and no wonder considering he'd nearly managed to commit the feat of drowning on a boat rather than off of one.

"I'm fine," he muttered, hand going to rub a spot on his calf.

"You don't look fine. And I'm pretty sure people who nearly drown are supposed to take it easy-"

"Audrey, if they catch us and kill us, I'll get plenty of rest. An eternal sort of rest. Forgive me if I'm anxious not to have that happen."

She gave a frustrated sigh. "At least give me the backpack."

Duke looked like he was about to stubbornly protest even that, but after a second he removed it from his back and handed it over. She slung it over her shoulders, trying not to wince at the weight. What had he put in it, a few bricks? That might not have been a bad idea considering they could throw them at Julia's idiots. Trying to smile, she thanked him for being reasonable, and he just grunted.

"I wish Nathan was here," Audrey muttered, trying to keep an ear out for feet other than theirs tripping over things in the woods. "Where the hell is he anyway?" Duke's face suddenly looked haunted, and she didn't miss that. "Duke?"

Her spirit sank further when he avoided looking her in the eyes, and she began to worry that Duke was going to tell her that he was dead. But that simply wasn't possible. Duke sighed and looked at his feet. "He's, uh, in the hospital."

"Because?" she prompted, relieved that her worry had been for nothing.

"Because he got shot." When her eyes flew to his face, he held up his hands. "Jess said he's going to be okay, though. He made it through surgery and is even awake now and then now."

"How did he get shot?" Audrey demanded to know. "Did one of Julia's..." She trailed off when he shook his head.

"Uh...Nathan and I fought over a gun and it went off," Duke admitted.

"Why the hell were you fighting over a gun?"

"Because Nathan thought I'd done something to you." His voice was so quiet that he was hard to hear, and she was sure that it wasn't just because he was afraid of being overheard by anyone but her.

"No," Audrey said, shaking her own head. "You were getting along better. He was even worried about you after that kid ran into your kni...I just-"

"You have to see it from his point of view," Duke said, surprising her. "You were missing and just hours before I had my dad's ghost following me around, insisting I kill you like a good boy. Of course he put two and two together and got eleven."

Audrey was about to open her mouth to insist that they talk about it some more when a commotion way too close for comfort dried up her words. She frantically scanned the distance, and finally spotted a wooden building some distance from them. Catching Duke's eye, she pointed at it and they both began to run as fast as they could to the only possible shelter the woods seemed to offer.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile<p>

Dwight looked over his shoulder, making sure that the terrible two were still following him. At least they were down to two of the idiots. Duke and Audrey should have had enough time to get away from them, getting farther and farther from the point where they had separated. There had been three pursuers, but one had tumbled down the embankment into the river shortly after the chase had begun. It was only slightly helped by the rock that Dwight threw at his head. The rock had missed, but the flinch carried the man all the way down and back into the river. The water had caught him and dragged him down stream.

Now Dwight had just the two fools following him, and it was getting damned annoying. He kept having to double back to get them because they kept losing him. The blond man shook his head. He had thought that there were few people more inept than Duke in the woods. These two made Duke look, and sound, like a woodlands ninja. Dwight paused, looking down on the two henchmen from a perch in a fork of a tree. A tree that was now swaying ominously. For some reason it wasn't doing well supporting his weight.

Below him, the two had slowed, having lost their prey again. The tense silence was abruptly broken by "Don't Worry, Be Happy!" caroling loudly through the forest. It was abruptly silenced as Goon 1 answered the phone. As if to make up for the loud ringtone he whispered into the device, held closely to his ear. "No, we're still chasing them," followed by a pause, and then "On the other side, that's why." Another long pause and then "Yeah, we can meet you there. No, they're heading away from the shed." A last pause, another confirmation, and the phone was removed.

Goon 1 turned to Goon 2, and hissed. "She's an idiot. Who the hell calls to ask if the bastards have been caught?"

Goon 2 turned to Goon 1. "Someone that's worked with you before. I noticed you didn't tell her that we hadn't had much luck catching them."

Goon 1 glared at Goon 2. "I told her that we were still chasing them."

Dwight shook his head. These two were not very bright, and not very familiar with the terrain on this side of the river. All the swiftness and cunning that were present in the first chase, when they had been herding Duke and Dwight through the woods was missing. Either they had been with people that knew the woods well, or they were just very familiar with that stretch of forest. He didn't know, and didn't really care.

The ex-Ranger thought about ending the chase now, just by jumping down and incapacitating the two men. However there was the person at the center of this chase. With Audrey and Duke out of the way, and not so inconsequentially out of his way when dealing with the person at the heart of the matter. He thought that Duke wouldn't mind, but he didn't think Audrey would have been as prosaic about attempting to remove the leader of the group trying to kill them all. Audrey was something of a mystery to the man. He had honestly been surprised that she choose Duke over Nathan. Of the two of them, Nathan was the more stable, the more trustworthy. Duke had at least been honest about being dishonest.

Nathan was a very solid, dependable guy. Duke was not. He reminded Dwight of a man at the pinnacle of a house of cards. Still, he knew he rarely interacted with the man on his best days. He still remembered the bright eyed excitement of the smuggler as he hunted down his father's treasure. Duke and he knew they were conning one another, and Dwight had almost been willing to play it straight, but hadn't on Vince's advice. He was nearly five years older and hadn't had a part to play in the dramas surrounding the two in their formative years. He did hear plenty about Duke though from the chief. He hadn't been happy when Audrey had made friends with the Duke. Dwight had understood why when he saw the weapons cache, and had felt the power of whatever it was that had tossed him into the harbor. Had Nathan himself not asked Dwight to watch over Duke, Dwight wouldn't have gone near the man. There just would have been a quiet accident one day, and a burial at sea for the Cape Rouge's captain.

Below him the two men stamped their feet and considered, breaking Dwight out of his musing. The two goons were staring down at the pine a leaf littered ground, trying in vain to spot signs of passage where none existed. The two goons considered what they were going to do. "Let's just go meet her," Goon 1 said. "She said she'd meet us up by Gene's place."

Goon 2 nodded.

Goon 1 continued, "We'll have to figure out something to tell her. Suppose it's not so bad though. I mean, it's not like that they'll disappear. We'll all just have to go back to Haven and get her again."

Duke could feel the blistering heat of Goon 2's look from the tree. "Except that Duke knows someone kidnapped his girlfriend and framed him, Audrey knows she's been kidnapped, and the cop's been shot so they'll all be on edge," Goon 2 commented.

Goon 1 shrugged. "This is been going on for how many years now? The troubles will go away again or they'll drop their guard. It'll all work out."

The two henchmen trudged off into the woods, one using his phone as a GPS, confirming Dwight's opinion that this side of the river wasn't nearly as well known to the two men. Dwight waited for a few moments, then carefully descended from the tree and shadowed the two men. He could see that they were tired, and one of them was limping on his right side. They had thought they had lost Dwight completely, and apparently thought that the man wouldn't circle back around to follow them. Of course it getting colder and damper as the afternoon wore on into evening was also affecting them, and they were dragging their feet.

Dwight moved as quietly as he could, remembering endless lessons in hunting from his old man, as well as the stealth drilled into him in the ranger corps. He remembered asking his father why the only ever went bow hunting, and his father's evasive answers. He wondered if Simon Crocker taught Duke to hunt. He doubted it with the amount of noise that man made in the woods. He slipped along silently in the wake of the two men, moving around the branches and carefully ensuring he stepped only on the rotting leaves and not branches or rocks that might roll under his foot.

It was a very long walk, wending up hill and ending at a high ridge, with a large clearing at the top of it. Highlighted on the top of the ridge, a woman stood with two other men. She turned as she watched her minions gather around her. "Where are they?" she asked. Her voice was even, but from where he could see that the woman was not happy with her henchmen.

Goon 2 spoke up. "We lost them in the woods. They got off the boat and we followed them into the woods, but they disappeared on us. They're probably headed back into Haven by now." Goon 1 wisely held his tongue.

Flickers of strong emotion showed on the brunette's face. "That is not acceptable."

The Goons chorused their apologies. The woman turned to her two other minions and directed them to return to Haven, but to only observe. The two men wandered down the lawn to the small parking area in a few hundred feet away from the river overlook.

Dwight wished he could have distracted them, or disabled the cars before they took their occupants to Haven. Still, if he could take out Julia Carr, that would be a better way to end the conflict. From what he had seen, the remainder of Julia's people were eager to jump on the bandwagon, but they had no idea how to drive it. Take out the leader, and the organization falls apart. Dwight watched for a moment as the two men left in one of the cars.

The dark-haired woman stood for a few moments, watching her people leave. When they were gone she began interviewing the two goons about every detail of what had happened during the chase. After their report, she commanded the goons to continue their search. After she had relayed her commands, Julia moved off, trailing her men, both protesting that additional searching was useless, and headed to the remaining car.

Quickly and quietly he prepared the crossbow. He stepped into the stirrup and loaded the quarrel. Dwight brought his crossbow up and sighted Julia, aiming for her torso. A head shot would be more sure, but also a bigger risk to miss. He led her, just a bit, anticipating where her drift would take her. Taking a deep breath, he pulled the trigger on the exhale, watching as the bolt flew. It hit Julia in the upper right of her chest. She fell, quietly. There was none of the Hollywood physics that demanded she twirl around with the force of the bolt. However she was shocked and her balance was affected. She fell backwards, over the river lookout, and the sound of breaking branches and snapping limbs, some of which sounded human, proved she tumbled quite a way down the ridge.

While Julia was doing her impression of the Man from Snowy River sans mount, Goon 1 and Goon 2 were already moving in his direction, guns out and firing. His luck from earlier had run out, and this time the bullets, fired more directly at him rather than trying to herd him, were drawn to him and hit the Kevlar vest with the force of a mule kick. Dwight did his best to disappear into the woods. This time it was harder with two angry men chasing him, and none of them moving quietly.

The cleaner wanted to double back, and ensure that Julia was dead. The quarrel looked like it could have punched through a lung, and certainly the fall from the hill had done nothing good for her. With luck she would have broken her neck on her way down to the river. Dwight wanted to make sure that she was, as the munchkins put it "very and completely dead." If you leave no living enemy at your back, you didn't have to worry about it. He supposed he would have to be satisfied with having shot her and heard her fall.

She wasn't likely to have survived. Especially since Goon 1 and 2 hadn't split up, one to help her and one to follow him. Perhaps the Goons had seen something that indicated that she was dead. Either that or they were stupid. He hoped it was the former, but acknowledged that Julia got her thugs at the villain's equivalent of Building 19. It wasn't always good stuff cheap like the advertising indicated. Another shot impacting his vest made it amend that thought. Building 19 frequently did have good stuff cheap, but that it was very strange good stuff. Really, who needed forty feet by twenty feet of grass green astro-turf rug? Dwight thought it was only really people that hated mowing. He could actually understand that as it wasn't his favorite way to waste a day.

More bullets were fired in his general direction and he wasn't looking forward to the bruising he'd get from this experience. It would be worth it though if Julia was dead and if he survived this. Another shot rang out from behind him. He skidded to a stop and dodged behind a tree. The Goon Squad slowed their advance. Dwight went back behind them as the two men anxiously searched for him. Goon 1 had fallen behind. His worries were ended prematurely, as Dwight came up behind him and snapped his neck. Unfortunately this drew Goon 2's attention and Goon 2 was much smarter than Goon 1 had been.

Goon 2 raised his gun, and began firing at Dwight, seeing him exposed. Dwight dropped Goon 1 to the ground and ran back through the woods. Goon 2 kept up with him, and the rage on his face indicated that this was not something he was going to let go of easily. Dwight led the man on a merry chase through the woods, but he wasn't able loose the other man this time. Goon 1 must have been the one that had slowed Goon 2 down, because now that he was alone, Goon 2 was much more difficult to evade. Dwight had tried to circle back to the ridge, and had failed. Goon 2 was too persistent in following him. One of them was going to have to do something soon to end the stalemate. Neither one could even fire on each other to bring a quick end because one was running low on ammunition and the other had a weapon that was just too slow to use.

Dwight crashed through the woods, jumped a fence to end up in a large field. It had a large cow that stared at him, placidly. He ran to the cow, intending to put its bulk between him and Goon 2. He was stopped in his tracks next to the animal when the man behind him yelled out "DON'T YOU HURT HER!"

"What?" Dwight asked, panting with exertion.

The man came to a stumbling stop. "Don't hurt my Gene. She's my wife's step brother's son's pet milking cow and you can't hurt her. She didn't do nothing to you!"

Dwight looked between the man and the cow. The cow chewed her cud. Dwight took the cow by the blue halter that framed her sweet brown face. "Ok. I'm taking this cow with me. You stop following me and I'll let her go on the other side of the field. You stop chasing me, and I'll leave the cow unharmed."

The man nodded earnestly. "Ok, just don't hurt Gene. That boy loves that cow. I'd never hear the end of it if something happened to her. Please don't harm her."

"The cow's safe with me so long as you leave me alone." Dwight pulled on the cow's halter, gently urging the animal to follow him. She did, with a quiet sigh. Dwight walked slowly to the far end of the field, following the fence. He turned back once or twice, checking on Goon 2. The man hadn't moved an inch, and was staring worriedly after the Jersey cow. Dwight continued using the cow as a get-away hostage.

Eventually they reached what appeared to be the end of the pasture. However, he could see that the fence line extended back, and in the distance he could see a large house, sitting up on a hill. There was a small cluster of building below it, and the field ran for a good distance behind them. One of the buildings had pumps in front of it, indicating it was a gas station. Dwight took Gene on an extended walk, down the longer of the two fence lines and then stopped. He let go of the quiet animal's halter and petted the cow's long face. Gene blew snot at him and sighed.

Dwight hopped the fence and walked the rest of the way to the road, down to a gas station, where he was able to call for a taxi. When he went back to look for signs of continued pursuit, he only saw a man carefully checking the head and legs of the brown cow in the pasture behind him. He was still checking when the taxi came to pick him up and take him home.

* * *

><p>When they reached the building, Audrey pulled off the backpack and shoved it under a bush near the doors when Duke gestured for her to do so. To his relief she caught on without him having to explain aloud how he worried that it'd slow her down. That done, they turned to the building itself, and both realized that the large wooden door in front of them was their only safe way in: taking the time to explore the rear of the building might lead to being surprised by one of Julia's people, if they were clever enough to come up with a plan to double back to avoid being seen. It seemed doubtful, but it was too risky to assume that every person following Julia was an idiot.<p>

The wooden door didn't slide open easily, but they forced it wider, and ran in. Audrey got ahead of him when he was suddenly struck by an excruciating headache. Groaning, he put his hands to his temples and gritted his teeth. The pain was almost as bad as it had been when Dwight's blood had splashed on him.

A few steps ahead of him, Audrey suddenly crumpled to the ground like a marionette with cut strings. Ignoring the searing pain in his head and his overall exhaustion, Duke dove forward and scooped her off the building's dirty floor. It surprised him all over again how heavy a person, even a small one like her, was when they were an unconscious dead weight. As an after thought he pulled out his gun, suddenly aware that they were in far more danger of being snuck up on now than they had been before Audrey passed out. At least his fatigue had been vaporized by the adrenaline surging through him.

It was the building affecting them, his gut told him, so he staggered back outside carrying Audrey, his gun pressed against her leg because he didn't dare make things easier on himself by putting it away. Someone might still be out there, and he didn't want to be caught defenseless. A small voice in the back of his mind suggested that there had been a shadow of something too large to be a stray cat moving at the back of the building before his head tried to explode, but he tried not to think about that. If someone else had been in the building, they'd know soon enough.

As soon as he got them outside, two things happened to him. The first was that the pain in his head instantly evaporated. The second was that it was immediately replaced with nausea that had nothing to do with his physical complaints. Duke scanned the immediate area before deciding to make a nearby antique truck his goal. It seemed to be a mile away, but in less time than he thought he'd gotten behind the rusting hulk and lowered Audrey to the ground.

"Hey, Audrey?" he asked, checking to make sure that she was breathing and had a strong pulse. "Come on, you need to wake up for me, sweetheart. This is a really bad time for a nap."

To his relief, her eyes slowly opened. "Oh, thank God. I thought you'd gotten hurt when the boat crashed after all. You're not going to believe what I suddenly remem-" Duke trailed off when he saw the blankness in her gaze. His nausea redoubled when a realization hit him like a brick: the only other time he'd seen someone look at him like that was when he'd found the other Audrey in the woods that day back during the spring. "Audrey?" he squeaked in alarm.

She looked frightened as well, and struggled to sit up. He let her. Staring at him, she slowly said "You love me," but her voice sounded completely detached, as if she was merely asking about the weather.

"Yes, I do," he said carefully, studying her face. It was still mostly empty.

Any relief he might have felt disintegrated when she asked, "Are we married?"

Duke was struck by the sudden impulse to say yes since he thought it would make her happy, but he pushed past it. "No. But maybe someday."

"Oh." She looked away in the distance. "Where's the other one?"

"The other one?" He began to feel alarmed. Had he seen someone in the building after all? She might have been able to get a better look because she'd been in the building longer before collapsing. He hoped hard that she was just referring to Dwight.

Audrey looked frustrated. "The other man we know. He's tall like you, but has blue eyes like mine, and light brown hair. That one."

Relief flooded him. "Nathan," he said, noticing that she looked slightly less agitated. "He's not here, Audrey." The feeling that they shouldn't be there any longer was beginning to overwhelm him, but he didn't want to rush her and freak her out any more than necessary. "There was an accident after you got...taken, and he's in the hospital."

She struggled to her feet, and he got to his too, ready to chase after her if she bolted like he had the feeling she would. "Who is he, to me?"

"Nathan's your partner at work. And I think it's fair to say that he's your best friend."

"Duke?" she said, making him feel a little better, only for a moment. "It's all gone," she explained, looking devastated. "I know I trust you both, love you both...but I don't remember anything else." Audrey seemed like she was about to cry. "Anything!"

He put his arm around her shoulder. "We're going to figure this out," he promised, but he had no idea if there was anything he could do to fix her.

"We will?" Audrey asked, and her eyes were the flat blue of a doll's painted ones. What made her Audrey just didn't seem to reflect in them at the moment.

"Yeah, definitely," Duke said, hoping it wasn't a lie.

* * *

><p>As they stood there, Duke's mind was a whirl of activity. They couldn't stay there, not when Julia or her henchmen might still be out there looking for them instead of obediently following Dwight, but the boat was decidedly out of commission. He had spent a lot of time patching up his floating home, but it had never sustained a jagged hole in the hull the way his "fun" boat had. Even if he had the materials to repair it on hand, he didn't have the necessary skills.<p>

His wet hair reminded him that hypothermia was a real possibility for him at the very least, but it wasn't as though they could go knock on the door of the nearest house and ask for help. There was far too big of a risk that they'd stumble upon the home of someone who had held the Driscolls in high enough regard that their first instinct would be to hand them over to Julia's people.

Duke desperately wished that he'd driven his Land Rover up, but it was parked in the Gull's lot. _Beam me up_, Scotty, he thought, wishing that the twenty-first century had Star Trek technology at its disposal. Of course there'd probably be a hell of a lot of fatalities before the kinks were worked out, and transporting someone whose memory was already fractured probably wasn't the best idea anyway.

Straining his ears, he heard the distant hum of a boat's motor, and was happy that it seemed to be fading away. His fear that they'd be spotted coming out of the building seemed less grounded than his injured boat, which was a relief. Of course there was no guarantee that the boat wouldn't head back towards them at any time.

If Audrey had any ideas, she was keeping them to herself. He sighed, realizing that he was being completely unreasonable if he really thought she should help solve the problem. It was probably taking everything she had not to fall into a screaming panic over what had happened to her.

"Hey," he said, grabbing her attention back from wherever she'd retreated to inside her head. "We're going to need to go now."

"Go where?" she asked blankly. He didn't blame that on her memory problems because they were a few hundred yards from the water, and there wasn't really any readily apparent place to go.

Duke pointed at a narrow trail mostly hidden by trees and bracken. "I'm hoping that the path there leads to the road."

"And then?" She stared at the antique truck for a second before looking away. Apparently you didn't need a functioning memory to realize that a gutted vehicle with only three tires wasn't a form of transportation.

"Then we walk for a while, as many miles as we can, and call for a rental car."

"Because we came here by boat," she said slowly, sounding unsure of herself. "And it crashed."

"That's right." He glanced down at her feet and was relieved to see that she had on the hiking boots they'd picked up on a trip to the LL Bean outlet store. At least she wasn't wearing heels or other footwear equally unsuited to walking a long distance. "I wish there was a better option, but we can't exactly hitchhike with people actively out to get us."

Fear blazed across her delicate features. "There's someone after us?"

"Wh-?" he squeaked, momentarily stunned. Kicking himself, he realized that he shouldn't be so damned surprised. She didn't remember her own past, so why should it come as a surprise that she didn't remember why'd they'd run into that accursed building in the first place? "Yes, we were being chased, and we need to get out of here ASAP."

Duke more than half expected her to ask "by who" but he eventually realized that it probably wouldn't make a difference to her. Instead of replying, she simply nodded and took his arm, ready to be led.

He snagged the bag they'd hidden and then pointed her in the direction of the woods.

* * *

><p><em>an: So what do you think of **that**, girls and boys? Faerax demands more feedback, by the way. You better give in to her demands or we'll never reach her lobster scene that had me literally laughing out loud. _

_Oh, and if you get bored, follow me on Twitter. I'm at symbol (why won't it show up?) _theevilwriter_ there. I tweet about writing, music, politics and other silly stuff. I need more stalkers. I mean followers _


	35. At Loose Ends

Though it was just the two of them, Duke kept cringing over the noise they made, and had him wishing for once that it had snowed heavily recently. As it was a coating of frost made things seem even more crisp when clumsily stepped upon. It reminded him of the time he and his mother had sat in the backyard and listened to wild turkeys crashing though the woods. The turkeys had been oblivious to the racket they made, and no matter how careful Duke was, he couldn't seem to make less noise himself.

At any moment he expected that their noise would draw a hail of bullets, but it never came. Rather than be relieved, he became paranoid, believing that Julia and her merry band of madmen were simply biding their time, waiting for what they somehow considered the right moment. What the right moment could be, he could only grimly speculate. If killing them in the woods wasn't on the menu, would something public so they'd serve as a warning to the troubled back in Haven be the aim instead?

Audrey had gamely followed him for what was literally miles, but eventually he could feel her tiring. "Are you okay?" he asked in a low voice.

Face drawn, she shook her head.

Of course she wasn't okay, he chided himself. Okay wasn't even in the same zip code for either of them, but her much more than him. Looking around, Duke decided that they were as far as they were going to get on foot. "Hey. I think I'll make that call now."

"Okay." Audrey sounded tired and tremulous, which led him to a snap decision.

Thankful that he'd sprung for the prepaid phone with internet capabilities rather than the ten dollar model on the shelf next to it, Duke searched online for a rental company that would pick you up. He found a Hertz, and a local company, and instantly decided to go with the local place because it felt less obvious.

Out of habit he stepped away to make the call. When he turn around, he saw that Audrey had her arms wrapped around herself, and was shivering so hard that she was visibly shaking.

"Still not used to this fine New England weather, huh?" he asked lightly as he stripped off his jacket. "I might not be able to fix much, but this I can improve." If the jacket had come with a hood he might have been less inclined to give it up, but it didn't so he couldn't see how giving it up would make him any worse off.

As he draped the jacket over her shoulders, she looked up at him with an unreadable expression. Normally she would have either told him not to give up his coat, or have thanked him profusely. Instead she just stopped shivering so hard. "When I requested the car, I asked them to hurry, telling them that we were freezing our tails off out here. They said it'd only be a few minutes."

Cold air bit at Duke, especially his head given his still damp hair, as he paced back and forth waiting for their rental to arrive. It was only as he watched Audrey stand there motionless that he realized that he wasn't reacting normally either. At any other time he'd of suggested that they huddle together for warmth after offering up his coat, but it didn't feel right at that moment...and it wasn't just because he figured that she would have refused the suggestion.

When they heard the sound of a car engine, Duke's hand automatically skimmed along his waistband, reassuring himself that he was still armed. Fortunately, the bulk of his layered shirts disguised the butt of the gun even without his coat. It was damn unlikely that someone on Julia's side had hijacked their ride, or infiltrated the car rental place, but he'd had too many close calls with damn unlikely things to completely discount the possible danger.

Two vehicles pulled up and nothing about them immediately set off his alarm bells. One car was a late model ford, and the other was a company car emblazoned with a huge logo on the sides of it proudly advertising Davis Pick-U-Up Rentals.

The driver of the ford rolled down the window. "Hey, you folks look cold."

"No kidding," Duke said flatly. He didn't have to suffer fools gladly just because they didn't seem to be gunning for them. "Cash, right?" he asked, pulling out his wallet while thanking the universe for giving him the foresight to have hit up an ATM while looking for Audrey.

"Cash is king," the driver agreed. "How'd you end up here, anyway? There's nothing around for miles."

"Boating accident."

The driver craned his neck, as if he expected to see the boat despite them standing just outside a forest. "Right. Well, it's really none of my business, anyway."

"No," Duke started to protest that there really had been a boating incident, but he gave up when the guy just smiled tightly and nodded, apparently hoping hard that they weren't dangerous. _If you only knew, buddy,_ Duke thought.

As soon as the appropriate amount of cash was handed over, Duke was given a key in exchange, and the driver hopped out of the car. He brought his hand around behind himself instinctively, but left the gun where it was when the driver immediately walked over to the company car and climbed inside it.

They watched the other car drive off before piling into the rental. "A rental again, huh? You must be so sick of that-" Duke found himself blurting out before realizing that Audrey had no lingering unhappy memories where her deer-slaughtered car was concerned.

He really wished that she did.

* * *

><p>Inside the car the first thing Duke did was to turn the heater on full blast. It was nice that someone had already driven it because they didn't have to wait for the engine to warm the air streaming in through the vents.<p>

"Thanks," Audrey said quietly.

Duke assumed she meant for turning on the heat, but didn't bother to ask for clarification. "How are you feeling? Physically, I mean. We can talk about our emotional trauma at another time. Hungry? Tired?"

"Exhausted," she replied, yawning as if for emphasis.

Until she said it, he had been able to ignore the fact that he was weary too. The cut along his calf began to throb too, as it wanting to speak up now that he was cataloging the ways he felt like crap.

"Your pal Nathan loves to lecture people about driving while tired," Duke told her, trying not to grit his teeth when the throbbing intensified. "So I think we should take his advice and not drive home while half dead from exhaustion."

"Won't they be looking for us?" Audrey asked, and for a moment he got his hopes up that it meant she was beginning to remember something. "Whoever it is you said is after us."

Trying not to sigh, he replied, "If they consider us staying somewhere tonight, they'll figure on us driving towards Haven. I think we'll go northeast of here, and spend the night. I won't be insulted if you fall asleep on me, okay?"

"Okay."

"I'm going to make two stops along the way, too. One for food, and the other to pick up some first aid supplies."

She looked concerned suddenly. "Are you hurt? I'm not."

"Yeah, a little. It's not that big a deal, but antibacterial ointment and some bandages would probably be a good idea."

"Sorry."

"That I'm hurt? Not your fault."

"No. Sorry that I don't remember you getting hurt, or anything." Audrey looked like she was on the verge of tears.

"Hey, it's going to be okay. You'll see. It's just a long scratch." He instantly decided to keep his near-downing to himself if she was that upset about a cut.

"Not deep as a well or wide as a church door?"

He turned to stare at her. Audrey's own memories might be gone, but somehow she was able to recite Shakespeare. Maybe it was a hopeful sign.

* * *

><p>When they were shown their room, the first thing Duke did was to pull out his phone and call the number Jess had given him for Nathan's hospital room. The phone rang three times before the call connected. "Nathan, it's Duke." Niceties dictated that he ask how the other man was, but he didn't have time for them before Nathan spoke.<p>

"Did you find her?" Nathan asked, his voice slightly raspy.

"Yes."

"Is she okay?"

Duke glanced over at Audrey. She was staring out the room's only window. "No."

There was a long pause. "Is she hurt?"

"No. Not physically. Nathan, she...she remembers us a little, but nothing else. It's like the other Audrey." To his alarm, his voice thickened. "I thought maybe it would help if you talked to her. I don't know what else to do," he confessed, feeling broken.

"Give her the phone."

"Audrey, Nathan's on the phone, here," Duke said gruffly as he got up and pressed the phone into her hand. For a moment she stared at it, and for a horrified second he worried that she'd ask what it was for, but she eventually held the phone to her ear.

While Audrey was occupied, Duke stripped off his pants and took a good look at the gash on his calf. The pants were beyond salvaging, and he was faintly surprised that no one had said anything about the hole and the blood splashed around it. The wound itself was an angry pink, and he had to literally bite his tongue to keep from cursing as he pour hydrogen peroxide on the wound the way that he'd been told not to by people more medically knowledgeable than he. So far it had never hurt him, so he figured it'd do more good than harm. He managed to get himself fixed up and put on a fresh pair of pants in record time.

Audrey listened to Nathan's voice on the other end of the phone for a while, but Duke couldn't tell what she was thinking about because her expression never changed. She never said a word, either. After a while she walked to him and handed the phone back.

Duke put the phone to his own ear. "What are you going to do now?" Nathan asked immediately.

"Spend the night and bring her home tomorrow." He wanted to demand to know what Nathan thought he should do instead, but he had the terrible feeling that Nathan didn't have any of the answers either.

"Okay. We'll get her help when you get her back to Haven." Nathan suddenly gave a bitter laugh. "Or at least as much help as I can offer from this bed."

The awful thought of visiting Audrey at The Freddy flashed through Duke's mind, but he tried hard to banish it. They couldn't let her end up that way, they just couldn't. "Right. I'll let you know when we're back."

"Right."

When he hung up, Duke looked over at Audrey. There were dark shadows under her eyes. "You look as tired as I feel. Maybe it's time that we get some sleep."

"Which bed do we use?" she asked hollowly.

Duke recoiled as if he'd been slapped. The thought of sleeping in the same bed with her as if nothing was wrong made him feel sick again. To pretend that nothing was wrong would be like violating a child. Pointing at the bed closest to her, he said, "You take that one, I'll take this one."

She didn't argue. Instead she striped out of her clothes and put on the pajamas he offered her, and got into the other bed.

He fell asleep that night, still missing her even though she was right there.

* * *

><p>Haven<br>Meanwhile...

Nathan hung up the phone and covered his face with his hands. There wasn't anything he could do to help Audrey or Duke, and it felt alien to be so helpless in the face of a crisis. Part of him wanted to leap out of his bed and race up there, as if he thought his mere presence could bring Audrey's memories back from whatever crevasse they'd fallen into, but the more realistic part of him knew that it wasn't possible. He'd never been shot before, so he wasn't sure how long it was supposed to take before he felt better, but he certainly didn't feel anything approaching well.

At that moment he wished more than anything that his father was around so he could ask him what to do. As much as he wanted to trust that Duke would do everything he could to help Audrey, deep down he didn't believe that Duke's best would be good enough. Not that he thought that merely to condemn the other man - Nathan didn't think he best would have been good enough, either. At least he had the excuse of being injured to explain away his lack of ability.

Of course, if the chief had been there Nathan was sure that his father would have looked upon him with bitter disappointment. He'd told Nathan that his only job was to keep Audrey alive. Was an Audrey without her memories alive? Or was that woman gone, leaving just an empty shell he wasn't inclined to fill up? At that very moment he didn't feel strong enough to commit to starting over again with her in a very literal way. Instead he felt on the verge of throwing up.

The thought of starting over again with someone who no longer knew you made Nathan feel an unexpected pang of sympathy for Duke. Maybe Jess was right about the other man starting to mature, because Nathan was certain that the Duke he'd grown up with would have abandoned a woman who couldn't remember why she loved him. Yet Duke had been making plans, or at least trying to, like he intended to stick by her no matter what happened. It was the possibilities of what might happen that were so painful.

The click of heels on the tile flooring made Nathan look up, and he felt deflated when he realized that it wasn't Jess entering his room. She'd spent as much time with him as she could since he regained consciousness, but she had a job to do and hadn't been at it long enough to have earned time off, so he'd told her not to lose wages just to watch him being bored and restless in his room. Unfortunately, he hadn't committed her schedule to memory, so he was constantly assuming that it was her whenever he heard a woman's lighter footsteps approaching his room.

When she entered the room, his nurse smiled. Nathan recognized her and didn't have to look at her badge to know that her name was Jennifer. "How are we doing?" Nurse Jen asked affably.

Nathan grimaced. "My stomach is killing me," he told her, finally realizing that the pain that gripped his stomach had been trying to make its presence known before he answered the phone, so it wasn't psychosomatic.

"Sorry to hear that," the nurse replied in a soothing tone. "I can ask your doctor about increasing your pain meds."

"No," Nathan told her. He'd shaken his head as he said it, but dizziness made him regret that. "Not like that. I feel sick to my stomach rather than pain where I was shot."

"Oh. Sorry, hon. I bet that's the antibiotics. Some people's stomachs don't like tetracycline very much. We'll have to see if you can eat before we dose you again."

"All right," he reluctantly agreed. The thought of eating anything filled him with dread, but he didn't want to make an issue of it just then. It was possible that he might feel better when someone put a tray in front of him.

His tone must have clearly conveyed his dismay, though, because Nurse Jen shook her head. "I know this is no fun, but a massive infection would be considerably less so, and that old boat where you were injured just has to be a breeding ground for all sort of unpleasantness."

He almost said that it was cleaner inside than you'd ever imagine, but the thought of starting that conversation just made him feel tired Instead Nathan sighed. "I just wish I wasn't allergic to penicillin and amoxicillin, and a few others I can't even remember the names of now."

Nathan thought back to an ear infection he'd had when he was small that had gotten so bad that his eardrum had burst without him ever feeling the pain, and how Petie had freaked out when he'd reacted badly to amoxicillin during recess, struggling badly to breathe. When no teacher had responded to their yells, Petie and Duke had practically carried him to the nurse's office, and that day he'd ended up in the e.r. for the nth time.

"Well, those make some people sick to their stomachs too, so you might not have been better off even if you could take them."

"Great," he muttered sourly.

Nurse Jen patted his shoulder. "Just remind yourself that things could have been worse, all things considered."

Nathan stared up at her, at a loss for words. The nurse seemed like a nice person, but she had absolutely no idea how bad things were for him because she couldn't see beyond the four walls of his temporary room.

* * *

><p>When the sun streaming through the cheap motel room curtains slapped Duke into wakefulness late the following morning, his first thought was to hope that Audrey would be perfectly fine. His nana had been a big supporter of sleep as a curative, and he really wanted to believe that a good night's rest would have been all Audrey needed to recover. They'd slept more than ten hours, surely that had to have been restorative.<p>

But when she woke up and looked up at him with the same vague and faintly frightened expression she'd worn since the day before, he sighed and decided that he was a fool.

"Hi," he said tentatively.

She just stared back at him.

"I was thinking we should check out now."

"And then what?" Audrey's tone was listless, and he felt a small lump of ice in his belly when it occurred to him that she was already convinced that things were hopeless.

"Then we'll go home," he said with forced cheer. "And see if we can jog your memory that way."

"Do we live together?"

"Uh no," he replied, startled. "But we spend most nights together, either in your apartment, or on my boat."

"You have a houseboat?"

It was beginning to become difficult to not allow himself to wallow in despair too. She really, truly didn't remember things if she thought there was a possibility he was the sort of man to live on a houseboat. What else was she picturing, a shelf of Hummels carefully anchored in place so they wouldn't fall when the boat listed? "Not exactly. You'll see."

"Okay."

* * *

><p>The sense of loss that Audrey felt made it hard for her to get moving when Duke indicated that they ought to pack up their few things and make their way out of the motel. Dispirited, it took her an effort to even kick things into low gear.<p>

She gone to sleep praying to remember everything when she woke up, but her brain still felt like a paper a child used an eraser too roughly on after making an error. Things were still there, but all balled up and tattered where they'd worn through, and she didn't know if there was any way to smooth them back out and make sense of them again.

If she wasn't plagued by the gnawing sense that her memories were just out of reach, she might have been happier. Babies are not unhappy to have blank memories, so maybe it would have been like that for her too if things had been completely severed.

"Hey, let's go," Duke eventually said softly as he stood by the door with his backpack in his hand.

Of all things, that bag had been one the ones to upset her the most. He'd pulled it out of the rental the night before and showed her that it contained a few of her things too, not just his. It was the act of staring at clothes she couldn't remember buying or wearing that made things feel devastatingly real. Someone had gone to the trouble of deciding that she should wear low cut briefs and polar fleece pajama pants, and it could have been a stranger for all the connection she felt to those preferences.

As they walked to the lobby, she followed Duke like a duckling. The tie to him was one of the few things that made her feel at all grounded instead of wanting to succumb to the urge to fly to pieces and separate from the world entirely. And therefore she felt terrified by the thought of him leaving her line of sight. The night before she'd been upset when he'd insisted on sleeping in separate beds, but not because she'd wanted to do anything; it was just that the possibility of waking up and not having him be the first thing she saw was paralyzing. He was the only spark in her darkness.

It soon became clear that her worry was plainly visible because the clerk collecting their room key took one look at her and quietly asked Duke if she was all right.

The urge to laugh at the absurdity of the question bubbled up in her, but before she could say something rash, Duke murmured something about her having a just suffered bad shock. She bit back a remark about that being the understatement of the century.

As soon as they exited the lobby, she stood there blinking in the sunshine. It occurred to her that she didn't even know what state they were in, but it seemed a little late to ask. It was cold so she thought it was somewhere in the northern part of the country. Seeing his Maine license plate confirmed that.

While he drove, she leaned her forehead against the icy glass and looked out as the trees whipped past them. If she didn't know who she was, how did she guess their approximate geographical location? Why was she sure that it was nearly winter? Why did she know all sorts of facts when her biographical memory had been excised?

* * *

><p>Duke kept glancing at Audrey every time they passed a sign that said how many miles more it would be until they reached Haven. Some naïve hopeful part of him apparently expected that she'd see the town name and remember everything. It switched to buildings once they reached town. When she saw Rosemary's she'd remember. When they passed the police station she'd remember everything.<p>

When they reached the Gull she asked "Are we here?" and his heart broke.

"Yes, we're here," he said gently, trying not to let the hurt show.

By the time they reached her door he'd been cured of his expectation that she'd suddenly be bowled over by a flood of memories, which was a good thing because she looked around the apartment with polite interest, not with a proprietary eye.

It had taken several hours to drive back from northern Maine and it was already growing dark again. When Duke had been away from Haven, he'd never missed the short days that led up to the winter solstice. In fact, there were a few years when he'd spitefully made a point of positioning himself somewhere warm on the first day of winter, just to thumb his nose at the small, closed-in nights he'd grown up being subjected to during the winter months of his entire childhood. The thought of driving Audrey around and torturing her with the expectation that the key to unlocking her memories would be being shown this place and that in the dark made him want to slit his wrists, so he decided not to do it.

But that left just one other grimly realistic option.

* * *

><p>Things were both baffling and scary once they arrived at the e.r. At first the intake nurse directed questions at Audrey, but eventually realized that she couldn't give them answers and was only becoming upset, so the nurse asked him instead.<p>

Had she suffered a head injury? Duke could only say that he didn't know, but it was a likely possibility. Was she on birth control? Yes, and he could even supply the brand name since she enjoyed making fun of the commercials. Had she been exerting herself? Running from bad guys, yeah, so he said yes. Did she smoke? No. Did she need treatment for high blood pressure? Not that he knew of. Was there a family history of stroke? No idea. How was her diet? Largely cupcake-based, so probably not great. Had there been a lot of stress or trauma right before the memory loss? Yes, big time.

A doctor began a neurological exam, then Audrey was whisked away for a head CT. Eventually Duke was allowed to rejoin her, and a doctor came in to speak to them. "What did the CT show?" Duke asked, squeezing Audrey's hand.

"Nothing conclusive," the doctor admitted.

"So, now what?" Duke demanded to know. His frustration was growing with every passing minute. Bringing Audrey in was supposed to help make her better, or at least help solve the mystery of what was wrong with her, and nothing had been done that did anything but waste their time.

"Why don't we step out into the hallway?" the doctor suggested, and like a fool Duke led Audrey into the hall without questioning the request. It was only then that he realized that there were nurses and orderlies in the hallway, most of them giving them pointed looks and talking in hushed tones.

"What's going on?" Duke asked nervously.

"We're just going to admit Ms. Parker for observation so we can make sure that we keep on top of her symptoms."

"How long?"

"Oh, probably just a day or two. Maybe three."

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Duke said doubtfully, very aware of how terrified that she looked. It intensified when the doctor took his arm without asking and tugged him away from Audrey's side. The nurses and orderlies began to approach.

"No!" Audrey looked over her shoulder at him, her face anguished. "Duke, don't let them!"

"I'm sorry," he whispered, feeling tears begin to prick at his eyes. "But I don't know what else to do." Duke darted forward to kiss her on the cheek before stepping back again.

A pair of orderlies flanked her, and he expected - almost hoped - that she'd flail at them and try to run off. But his heart sank when she seemed to shrink into herself and meekly allowed them to lead her away, only pausing long enough to shoot him a betrayed look. The doctor trailed after them.

As the group walked down the hall, a nurse put a sympathetic hand on his arm. "This is really for the best. It could be transient global amnesia or transient ischemic attack, the latter being more serious. We can only figure out what's going on if we keep her for observation."

"When can I see her? I need to explain this to her. Apologize."_ God. I didn't expect it to be like this_, he thought to himself.

"Not until tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Duke gasped, horrified all over again.

"Visiting hours start at six a.m." The Nurse glanced down at her watch. "That gives you several hours to go home and get a good night sleep."

Instead of saying anything in reply he watched Audrey disappear into the distance, becoming as small as the child he felt like he'd just abandoned.

* * *

><p><em>an: if we were the writers of **Chuck** we'd just slap a "the end" on the next chapter, but we're not =)_

_And speaking of Twitter, some of you need to tweet at **havensam **tooabout how many people are not completely wed to the idea of Audrey/Nathan. Be vocal!_


	36. Rough Night All Around

_Now that I got Word working on my new computer, how about some more story?_

* * *

><p>The clock on the wall of Nathan's room keep ticking by minutes, and he felt himself growing increasingly anxious as time passed. He hadn't wrested a promise out of Duke, but Duke had said he'd let him know when they got back to Haven.<p>

Eventually it occurred to Nathan that Jess had written Duke's cell phone number down for him. It wasn't easy to paw through the debris of hospital food menus and other assorted paperwork left on the bedside table, complicated in part by his hands feeling oddly swollen, but after a while he came up with the scrap of paper.

The phone rang so long that Nathan was sure that it was going to go to voicemail, but at last Duke's voice said "hello?" in a suspicious sort of way. Jess had told him that Katie McCready had given Duke the license plate that had led to finding Audrey, so who knew how many lowlifes had the number.

"Duke? It's Nathan."

"Nathan! They won't let me come and see you because visiting hours are officially over. I tried hard to sweet-talk the nurse at the reception desk, but she blew me off."

"I imagine that's a difficult thing for you, having your charm fail on you," Nathan said dryly. "How's Audrey?"

"Uh...funny thing, Nathan. She's a couple of floors away from you as we speak."

"Did something happen after we last spoke?" Nathan asked sharply. It wasn't hard to imagine someone without a memory getting into trouble, possibly becoming badly injured in the process. "Why is she in the hospital?"

"They're keeping her under observation," Duke explained. He sounded faintly puzzled. "They said something about a possible minor stroke or something being responsible for her memory loss."

"Do you believe that?"

"Do I believe that? No. Do I want to? Hell yeah. If it is one of these transsomething or others, she'd be better again in a day, maybe two."

Nathan struggled to suppress a sigh and just barely succeeded. "Duke, what happened? You were so upset yesterday that I didn't think there was any point in asking then, but you sound reasonably calm now-"

"I'm not, but thanks. What happened was we were chased along the river by Julia Carr and the idiots she's gotten onto hers side, and ducked into a building. As soon as we did Audrey collapsed. When she woke up... Well, you know the rest."

_As well as anyone does_, Nathan thought. When had Julia of all people gone over to the dark side? There were a million questions that he wanted to ask, but they could wait until Audrey was...there was no non-depressing way to finish that thought, so he took a stab at the stark truth instead. "It's like what happened to the other Audrey."

"Don't say that," Duke said fiercely. "Don't you dare say that."

He waited for Duke to go on and say that their Audrey would be fine, but apparently the other man wasn't interested in lying to either of them. _Don't let it be a lie._ "Sorry."

Duke sighed. "No, I am. It's just...they won't let me see her until visiting hours tomorrow, either. God, Nathan. The way she looked at me when they took her away...I wouldn't blame her if she's in her room hating me right now for letting them admit her. I didn't know that they were going to, I swear."

"She doesn't hate you." Nathan couldn't believe that he'd been called upon to soothe Duke Crocker, but the universe was full of perverse tricks. "Audrey has to know that you just did what's best for her."

"How could she? I don't even know if bringing her here is what's best for her."

"Here? Are you still in the building?"

"Yeah."

He almost asked why, but decided that he didn't want to know that badly. If Duke felt that his time was best spent hanging around the hospital it was his business. "It's not just you, you know."

"What's not just me?"

"The visiting hours thing. Jess can get them to bend the rules a bit more than you, but they eventually made her go home too, and she works here."

"I haven't given up," Duke warned him. "So you just might get a visitor yet."

"You might show up while I'm sleeping? Good thing I'm not armed," Nathan said, but then he realized that was probably in poor taste considering why he was there in the hospital. "Duke...I'm sorry I accused you of doing something to Audrey."

"Nathan, I don't blame you," Duke surprised him by saying. "They left my whistle there for you to find. Naturally you thought-"

"-that you'd listened to your father's ghost," Nathan admitted before Duke could finish apologizing for him. "I should have known better than think you would have taken what he said to heart. But you used to idolize him."

"What? I couldn't stand him."

"Whenever someone said something bad about him, you were quick to defend him," Nathan pointed out. "Maybe you didn't even realize it, but you did."

"Only because I didn't want people thinking I came from bad stock."

"If you say so."

"I say so," Duke said firmly. "And uh, I'm sorry that you got hurt."

"Odds are just as good that I pulled the trigger as you did."

"I know. That's why I didn't apologize for shooting you." Nathan thought he could detect a note of humor in the other man's voice. He almost remarked upon it, but he was distracted by a strange lurching feeling in his chest. It wasn't exactly pain, but it wasn't right, either. Nathan only realized that he'd been silent a while when he heard Duke speaking. "You still there?"

"Yeah."

"You sound tired. I should let you go. But Nate, I promise we're going to figure out how to make Audrey better. I don't know how yet, but we will."

"Okay," Nathan replied distractedly. "I mean, we will."

"Night."

"Bye."

He'd barely said goodbye before he was seized by the urge to throw up. As soon as he wiped his mouth off, he pushed the call button by the side of his bed. Nathan hoped that even without Duke's charm he could talk someone into giving him an antibiotic that wouldn't continue to slay his stomach. If he couldn't, it'd be another long night.

* * *

><p>Later<p>

The room Audrey had been herded into lacked a clock that functioned, it merely sat on a dresser flashing 12:00 meaning no one had reset it after the last power surge, so she had no real sense of how long it had been since Duke had let them take her away. It was a sense of betrayal that had her huddled on the bed, knees drawn up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them.

She was still sitting like that when a nurse came in saying, ''I just wanted to check on..." The woman trailed off after one look at Audrey's blotchy face. "Oh, honey, it's not that bad."

"Yes it is," Audrey retorted thickly. Tears that still wanted to get out clogged her throat. "He left me here. He promised that it would be okay, but he left." Audrey took one of the tissues the nurse held out and blew her nose noisily before going on. "I should be mad at him, but... I just want Duke!"

The nurse gave her an awkward pat on the shoulder. "I suspect that if someone was to go and ask him, he'd be saying the same thing about you."

After she took another tissue to dab at her eyes, Audrey asked, "What do you mean?"

"You shouldn't be mad at him for leaving. Because he didn't. That boy has been hunkered down in a waiting room, trying to con someone into letting him come see you since they brought you up here."

"He didn't leave me?"

"No. He's been making noise about how they strong-armed him into letting the hospital admit you," the nurse admitted. "Not that I saw what happened, mind you."

"They dragged me away," she said, voice bitter.

"I'm sure this all seems scary and unfair right now, but the hospital really does have your best interests at heart." When Audrey just stared at her, the nurse sighed. "Does it help if I tell you that memory loss, especially in younger people, usually resolves itself in just a few days?"

Audrey looked up sharply. "Usually?"

"There was a young woman your age earlier this year... But most people get better quickly. Usually their problem is caused by a concussion or a minor vascular event. Those things usually don't cause lasting damage."

"Okay," Audrey said, hoping that the nurse would take the hint and leave.

She did. "Why don't you try to get some rest? If you fall asleep on your own, I'll make sure no one bothers you with a sleeping pill later."

"Thanks." Audrey stood up and touched the hospital-issued pajamas that had been left on the bedside table. Perhaps the nurse worried that Audrey might have forgotten to be modest too, because she disappeared immediately, leaving Audrey to change in peace.

As she pulled the cotton top over her head, she thought about what the nurse told her. Duke hadn't abandoned her, hadn't even left the hospital. She didn't know whether to be pleased about this, or sink further into her angst.

Although she was grateful that Duke hadn't thrown her away like she had first feared, knowing that he was somewhere in the hospital waiting to see her made her feel a little sick, too. If he was waiting for her, he must think that she was going to get better, and despite what the nurse said, Audrey remained unconvinced. There was no good reason for it, but she remained certain that it wasn't a head injury or a minor stroke that had erased her past.

If she wasn't going to get better, it wasn't fair to either of them if he persisted in believing that she would. She couldn't bear to disappoint the only person she felt like she knew at all. And Duke... Holding out hope that she'd ever be the woman he loved again wasn't right, either. How could he have a meaningful life if he stuck by her and she remained as she was? She'd be like an anchor around his neck weighing him down. Despair washed over her as she reached a decision that was rational, but left her feeling cold inside.

* * *

><p>The thought of going back to his boat, all alone, was too much for Duke to bear, so he found himself in the waiting room closest to the room ward they were keeping Audrey on. After a short while he pestered a nurse just coming on duty, but was met with the same wall of resistance: visiting hours began at 6 a.m. no exceptions.<p>

In the back of his mind he hoped that seeming ultra-pathetic would encourage nurses to bend the rules for him, but they were more immune to his charm than most, and spent several hours steadily ignoring him. Eventually he resorted to buying chocolates as bribes when he hit the gift shop for a couple of paperbacks and some chips, but they'd accepted the candy with thank yous, not offers to let him see them.

It was several hours of long, miserable loneliness. The only two people he could honestly say he still cared about in any meaningful fashion were in the bowels of the building somewhere, and he couldn't do a damn thing for either of them. Sure, he could have called Nathan again on the phone, but the other man needed to get his sleep so he could get better and help him figure out what to do next.

To alleviate the boredom, every half hour or so for the past few hours, he'd gotten up and gone to get a cup of coffee. It was a good way to kill five minutes. The down side was that in his already exhausted state, he was now more wired than ever. He didn't want to go back home until he knew they would be OK. However, the nurses that passed the lounge were starting to look at him funny. It may have been the shaking hands from nervousness and caffination.

Just about the time when Duke was seriously considering his next coffee run, a nurse wandered into the waiting room. "Who did you say you were waiting to visit, again?"

"Audrey Parker and Nathan Wuornos." For a moment felt a bloom of hope that the rules would be bent for him.

"I'll be damned," she said, beaming. "Someone told me that, and I didn't believe them. Now I can't wait to tweet about Duke Crocker waiting all night to see cops, of all people."

"Great," he said sourly.

"You're dating one of them, though, aren't you?" she asked pointedly.

For a second he couldn't figure out what she was getting at, then snapped, "Audrey. I'm dating _Audrey_."

The nurse looked faintly disappointed. "Hey, can I take a picture to go along with the tweet? I don't know if people will believe it without proof."

"No, I don't think so..." Duke rose up to his feet. Unfortunately the floor didn't choose to stay there. For a moment the room tumbled in space around him, although Duke knew that the solid walls weren't actually moving. Then suddenly the floor was in his face. He dimly heard the nurse call for a doctor, and then even the floor went away.

* * *

><p>Duke came to in an emergency room cubicle with an IV in his arm. He was studying it when the nurse walked in. She grinned at him, and with true nursing compassion stated, "So I hear you tried to French kiss the floor upstairs." Many people were under the mistaken impression that all New Englanders sound the same, but they do not. He could hear Massachusetts in her accent, making him idly wonder why she'd moved to the great state of Maine.<p>

It took a couple of blinks to bring the nurse into focus, but when he did, he saw she was in her 40s, sporting the green scrubs of the lower levels. The nurses outside of Audrey's room were all wearing dark blue, and pink near Nathan's. He idly wondered why the hospital color coded them. While his mind was slowly wandering around the mystery of color coded wards, the nurse pricked his finger and smeared blood on what looked like a litmus strip.

"Am I the wrong pH or something?"

The nurse laughed. "Definitely or something." She pulled a vial out of her scrubs like a magician pulling a rabbit from a hat. "We'll take a bit more blood to be sure, but I'm pretty confident I know what's wrong with you. When's the last time you ate and exactly how much coffee did you drink upstairs?"

These questions were entirely too hard, and he had difficulty retracing the long confusing hours since Audrey misplaced her marbles. "Ummm...I think I ate yesterday. And I don't know. I sort of lost count of how many cups." He paused, thinking seriously for a moment. If she had just taken his blood and smeared it on the paper, why would she want to take more? He tried again. "Are you testing me for ammonia?"

The nurse looked up from watching the blood pour into the tube held gently in her hand. "What?"

"Or maybe my nitrates, or is it nitrites? I can never get those straight. Wasn't good in chemistry. Good thing you don't need chemistry to sail a boat." Duke looked confused. He could tell it from the warped reflection of himself in the bright, shiny surface of the tray she had brought her supplies in.

"No, no quite. Why do you think that?" The nurse was looking slightly amused, as if she appreciated the humor of his confusion. He always knew nurses were evil serial killers slaking their thirst for blood in obvious medical locations. He glanced down at the tube, annoyingly spurting blood in to it. Wait, wasn't it vampires that had the thing for blood? Audrey would know.

"Why do you think I'm testing you for nitrates or nitrates?" the nurse asked again.

Duke startled. "Because the strip thing looks like the test kits I have for my aquarium. I'm going to get an iguana."

Evil Massachusetts nurse stared down at him, and clucked her tongue. She pried one of his eyes open wider and stared at it.

Duke flinched, trying to shut it against her determined assault. Eyes were the windows to the soul, so there was obviously something the evil nurse serial killer vampire was after. "You can't have my soul!"

The nurse chuckled. "You really have gone on a bender, haven't you. I wasn't trying to steal your soul. I was looking to see there was evidence that you hit your head when you hit the floor. You aren't making much sense."

"Oh. Yeah, I used it all up the other day when I had to feed the meter to park out by Rosemary's." He would have loaned the evil nurse serial killer vampire banker money if it would make her go away.

"How about we try this again. Do you know why you are here?" The nurse's amusement was plain.

Duke thought it over for a bit, and then said tentatively, "Audrey and Nathan are here?"

She sighed a laugh. "No, not what you were doing inside the hospital, do you know what you are doing in the emergency room?"

"Not really." He thought hard about it for a minute, tracing the line of the IV up to the bag on the stand. Through it he could see the oversized appearance of a large red crustacean. "Wait, I didn't hit another lobster, did I?"

The nurse stared at him. "You hit a lobster?"

Duke nodded emphatically, then regretted it as the building decided to do somersaults. "Yeah. I didn't mean to, but it just was there, in the middle of the road. Hit a tree when I swerved? Poor little lobster."

She snorted and capped the vial once it was full. "As far as I know, there have been no vehicular lobstercides in the state of Maine that had to do with you."

Her pronouncement was met with a relieved sigh. "Good. The lobster didn't deserve that."

The nurse hid her grin and set about noting down his vital signs. She chatted amiably as she checked him over. "Well, I can't speak for what lobsters may or may not have done, but you did a good job of impersonating a diabetic. You had very low blood sugar, and your blood pressure was all screwed up. When you stood up, it was all over but the hauling your butt down here." The blood pressure cuff she'd wrapped around his arm beeped, and she regarded it for a moment. "Good news is that your pressure is getting nearer to normal, but you aren't quiet there yet." She turned and fished around in her pockets. Eventually she pulled out a packet of honey. "Here, eat this. It'll make you feel better."

"Wait, how did I imitate a diabetic? Am I diabetic?" Duke was so confused.

"You drank a lot of coffee with little to no food in your stomach. You seem to be lucky, most people would have been vomiting up their toenails. When you drink that much caffeine, your body produces more insulin. More insulin, less blood sugar. Get low enough, and eventually it's Good Night Gracie."

Duke thought about this for a moment, then decided the nurse spoke way too fast. Mass people were always in such a freakin; rush, even when they spoke. He decided to say the only thing he could under the circumstances. "Oh."

The nurse took pity on the confused man. "You'll feel better when you eat something. But you have to lay off the caffeine for a while. Don't worry, you can see your friends soon since it's almost visiting hours. And as for you yourself, you'll be good to go in about half an hour." The nurse bustled out of the cubicle, leaving Duke to his thoughts. They mainly consisted of he was never going to admit to this in front of Nathan. Ever.

Duke lay on the exam table for a while. There really wasn't much to see, just the fabric walls that shielded him from other patients and shielded the other patients from him. He hadn't brought his phone, and didn't have a watch, so there was no real way for him to tell time. His only way of calculating how long until visiting hours remained while still upstairs had been the simple analog clock that hung on one of the walls. And the whole caffeine incident had left him fairly muzzy headed.

Consequently about 15 minutes after the nurse left, Duke decided it had been 45 minutes and that he should be able to go now. After all, if there'd been a problem, the nurse would have come back. He was still wearing his street clothes, so his condition couldn't have been that bad to begin with. He carefully disconnected the IV, and crept out of the cubicle. When he looked out the window in one of the hallways, he realized it was dark out. They still probably wouldn't let him go upstairs and see Audrey and Nathan yet.

The floor was lumpy as Duke walked down the hall. He hadn't remembered that from their arrival at the hospital, either arrival, but he shrugged it off and continued to stumble towards the exit, just intending to get some fresh air to clear his head.

* * *

><p>With Nathan out of commission and Audrey God only knew where with Duke, Dwight was left to clean up a troubled crime scene on his own. It wasn't his first solo effort given that the Chief had called him in to pinch hit several times, but he was exhausted from his efforts. Still, he was determined to visit injured friend even though he hadn't been to bed yet. He'd been tempted to call Jess Minion for help once he realized the extent of the problem at the crime scene considering that Nathan had told him that she had a good head on her shoulders and wasn't in denial about the troubles. But he knew she was worried about Nathan so he hadn't. He hoped that Nathan knew he was a lucky man. With a tired yawn, he pulled into a parking spot as close as he could to the hospital.<p>

"Dwight?" a voice asked as soon as he climbed out of his car.

"Speak of the devil," he mumbled before offering her a tentative smile. "What are you up to?"

Jess held up a bag. "Nathan seems bored silly, so I picked him up a couple of books on my way home last night."

"I didn't know he was much of a reader."

"I don't think he is, he's just that bored. You're coming to see him too?" Jess glanced at her watch. "Visiting hours are about half an hour from now."

"Yup-" Dwight trailed off as he watched someone come through the hospital doors. The man stumbled and eventually sat down heavily on the stairs. Dwight approached him, worried slightly about a drunk causing trouble in the hospital. After a swift and purposeful approach that should have gotten him deputized by Nathan, he found himself looking down into Duke's eyes.

Duke gazed lazily back up at him. "Hi, Dwight."

"Hi, Duke. Everything OK?" Dwight offered Duke a hand to try and help pull him up to his feet.

Duke considered Dwight's hand. "Nope."

Realizing that something was definitely amiss, Dwight reached down and grabbed Duke's arm, then hauled him to his feet. Jess came up behind Duke to steady him. Duke looked around, nearly setting himself back down on the pavement as he tried to identify who besides the blond was responsible for him being on his feet. Jess nodded quickly when Dwight inclined his head towards his car.

Dwight looked around expectantly for Audrey, but got the distinct impression that she wasn't about to stroll through the hospital doors and join them.

* * *

><p>"Duke, are you sure you're ok?" Jesse's soft Québécois accent was pleasant to hear.<p>

Duke paused, looking at both Jess and Dwight, and then his arms held securely over their shoulders. It was quite clear he had no idea how he had gotten into this position. "Uh, yeah. They said I could go. Oh, don' worry, Jess. We found Audrey," the smuggler slurred. "They promised to make 'er better."

"Better?" Jess asked sharply.

Faintly, he heard Sasquatch asking him what had happened after he left them, but it was too much effort to talk to two people, so he ignored Dwight in favor of Jess.

Duke squinted, realizing that Jess didn't know what was wrong with Audrey. "She doesn't 'member anything. I brought her here so they'd make her better, but they took her away," he confided mournfully.

"I'm sure they will make her better," she told him, but he just shook his head.

"What about the other Audrey, huh? Whoa-" he protested when he was hauled to his feet again. "Whata ya doin'?"

"Bringing you home for a nap," Dwight told him.

"No no, it's almost visiting hours."

"Not for another couple of hours," Jess told him. "Just a quick nap and we'll make sure you get here right on time."

Her claim that it was still a couple of hours until visiting hours didn't seem quite right to him, but Jess wouldn't lie, so he stopped fighting.


	37. With The Lights On

_a/n: Think we'll celebrate the 100 reviews milestone with some big answers in the next handful of chapters. For example, has anyone been wondering__ what Duke had been about to tell Audrey when he realized that the lights were on and no one was home?_

_Oh, I uploaded another (very short) story for you, dear readers. You'll get a kick out of it if you liked this chapter, even though the other story is from another fandom - click my name then locate "Womb For Revenge" ::evil smile::_

* * *

><p>The three of them made quite a sight, but most of the people walking past just assumed it was two friends bringing a drunken third friend home after being out all night. They poured Duke into the back seat of Dwight's car. Within seconds Duke began to snore loudly.<p>

"Smooth," Dwight told Jess as she snapped her seatbelt tight.

"It only worked because he's not wearing a watch," she remarked. "Do you know where he docks his boat?"

Dwight gave her a long look before simply saying, "Yes."

It didn't take long to drive to Duke's boat, and they tried to get Duke conscious before they made an attempt to get him onto it. It took Dwight holding Duke up to get him there safely.

"Do you think this is safe?" Jess whispered. "What if he falls off the deck?"

Dwight raised his eyebrows. "I don't see him crawling out of bed once we get him in it, let along wandering out onto the deck."

"Maybe I'd better stay here until he wakes up."

"Suit yourself," Dwight told her with a shrug. Jess stared him down. "Fine, I'll stay, and you visit with Nathan. But first help me find where he sleeps." His previous visits to the boat hadn't involved needing to see Duke's bedroom. "Could his fuzziness be the aftereffects of a near-drowning?" Dwight asked her.

"He almost drowned? How? When?"

"Couple of days ago. Got his head trapped when the engine compartment he was poking into filled up with water. Audrey did CPR or whatever to get him breathing again."

"If he was okay after that, then this is probably not related to that."

It didn't take them much effort to locate Duke's bed and to deposit him into it. "Then I guess he took it hard when he realized that Audrey didn't remember things. That's enough to make any man drink." Dwight looked mournful. "I wish I knew what happened to her after I left them. She was fine then. Pissed off, but fine. It had to be bad for him to climb this far into a bottle."

Jess shook her head. "No, there is no smell of alcohol. He said 'they said I could go.' Something else happened to him."

She set about trying to wake up Duke again. He roused eventually, but it took Dwight grabbing the flesh under his collarbone and twisting.

"Not cool, Dwight." The younger man was awake though, and sitting up in the bed.

Dwight smirked. "You should have listened to the lady when she told you to wake up."

Jess glared at the blond man for a moment before returning her attention to Audrey's paramour. "Duke, you said that they said you could leave. Who told you?"

"The nurse. She said I could go. I realized it still wasn't visiting hours, so I went to get some fresh air and ran into you." Duke flopped back down on the comforter. As he lay staring at the ceiling, another, louder country was heard from.

"Hungry?" The blond seemed amused by Duke's stomach's complaints.

"I would say 'bite me' but I'm afraid you'd take me up on the offer, Sasquatch."

Jess laughed. "I would suggest you eat, Duke, and get some rest. I am going over to the hospital and see if I can sneak in to see them. Dwight volunteered to make sure you don't fall off your boat."

Duke waved them away. "I'm not gonna fall off my boat. Go see Nathan, Dwight. See if he knows what to do for Audrey."

Dwight looked at Jess, who shrugged. "I will be back to make sure you are really okay. But wait here a minute," she told Duke before disappearing.

A couple of minutes later she returned with a peanut butter sandwich and a can of orange soda. "Here, now I don't have to worry about you even getting out of bed."

"Thanks," Duke said with a yawn. "You'll really come back for me when it's visiting hours? My car's at the hospital."

"Uh...sure." She hurried Dwight out of the room before Duke could see her face.

"I'll give you a call when I wake up, then," Duke called from his bed.

* * *

><p>When they found Nathan's room, he was still fast asleep. Dwight glanced at Jess, but didn't ask her if he thought that Nathan looked as bad as to her as he did to him. There was a grayish pallor to his skin, and though Dwight wasn't a doctor, he was sure that wasn't a good sign.<p>

Jess reached for the light, but he stopped her with a look. "Right," she whispered. "We'll let him sleep."

There was a couch settled at the end of the room, near the foot of the two beds. Dwight settled himself on it in the dark while Jess went up to examine Nathan more closely.

"There you are! I've been looking all over for you. When I said you'd be good to go I didn't mean you could leave the ER!" Dwight jumped as he was suddenly scolded by an irate nurse who was all but shouting at him, in a very quiet whisper.

"I'm sorry?" the big man apologized, not quite sure what he was being berated for.

The nurse stopped, and turned up the dim lights slightly. "Oh damn, you're not him."

"Beth, what's wrong?" An African American nurse walked into the dimly lit room. "Why are you out of the ER?"

"Isney, I'm looking for the man that was waiting for this patient last night. You know, the one that hit the floor? He walked out earlier and I've been trying to find him. He doesn't appear to be in the ER, or the café - he's got to be hungry, he told me he hadn't eaten at all today - so I thought maybe he'd be up here now that it's visiting hours."

Dwight interjected. "He a tall guy, around 6'2", 6'3", dark hair, faint Maine accent?"

Beth nodded "Yes, that's him. Did you see him?"

"He thought you told him he could go. We found him outside sitting on the steps and brought him home for a nap." Jess rounded Nathan's bed and ushered Dwight out.

The nurses both rolled their eyes. It was scary in its synchronicity.

"You need us to go get him?" Dwight offered.

Beth shook her head. "Just check on him. I was going to offer him the couch in one of the lounges until he could come up here for a visit. He wasn't so bad off he needed to be admitted, but he shouldn't be left alone either. You need to get him back here later though, so he can fill out the paperwork for his treatment."

"We promised that we'd bring him by in a couple of hours anyway," Jess explained.

"Oh, good," Beth said, shaking her head and walking off.

"Should we go find Audrey?" Dwight asked Jess once they were standing outside of Nathan's room.

"No," Jess told him. "If she really doesn't remember anything, it'll just upset her. We'll wait until Duke's nap is over."

* * *

><p>When Duke woke up, his head ached and his throat was dry. Yawning, he got out of bed and stretched before shuffling into his small kitchen and getting himself a glass of water. He swallowed it down without pausing for breath and finally looked at the clock.<p>

"What? No," he muttered before looking for where they had left his phone. Even in his clouded state he'd thought that it had almost been visiting hours when he left the e.r. and shouldn't have believed Jess and Dwight when they insisted that it was hours until he could see Audrey. Now it was so late that he'd have to wait until evening visiting hours to see her.

''Damn it," he muttered, dialing Jess's number. Was it Nathan's fault that the two of them seemed convinced that he needed to be parented? He realized that they thought they were doing him a favor by tricking him in to getting rest, but they didn't seem to grasp that what he needed more was to see Audrey so he could apologize for not stopping them from admitting her.

If they didn't let her out in two or three days like they promised, he'd have to look into how to make them. He'd take care of her himself before he let them keep her there long term.

When Jess's phone connected he snapped "Come get me would you?" before she had a chance to make excuses. Jess sounded sheepish when she promised that she'd come immediately.

* * *

><p>Jess stared straight ahead as she drove, giving no indication that she was listening as Duke groused at her. This did little to stop him from going on. He gave her the impression that he was both used to and comfortable with having his tirades ignored.<p>

"... And you knew how important seeing Audrey was to me and you still tricked me into going home so I'd sleep through my first chance to apologize. Not cool, Jess. Not cool."

It took a great deal of self-control not to tell him off, and the only reason she didn't was because she knew that his irritability was born out of worry about Audrey. When Duke had mentioned the memory loss that morning, she hadn't realized that he had cause to be extra concerned; was only after she spoke to Nathan about it that she even learned that there had ever been a second woman known as Audrey Parker in Haven.

"You know how she grew up. I really would've liked not reintroducing her to abandonment issues as a way to remind her of her old life."

Jess had enough. "Do you ever shut up?" she hissed, cutting her eyes towards him long enough to see his shocked look before focusing on not slamming into a tractor-trailer truck that had abruptly stopped make a left turn. "You're worried. I get it. We all get it. Being worried isn't a license for behaving foolishly, and you foolished yourself into barely being able to stand."

"Wait. That's not fai-"

She ignored his protest. "Since you were obviously incapable of exercising good judgment yourself this morning, Dwight and I had to do it for you. Someone had to keep you from stumbling into traffic or doing something equally stupid or dangerous."

To her surprise, Duke didn't blow her admonishments off. After being silent for more than a minute he finally said, "I'm sorry. I know you must be worried about Nathan too."

"It's all right," she said with reluctance that didn't seem to be lost on her passenger.

"Worry makes us selfish jerks," Duke admitted. "And you and Nathan...Forgive me, but that's sort of hard to wrap my mind around. He fell for you fast, then you left. Nate's not really the type of guy to forgive easily, so it's surprising he hasn't made you wait another six months before absolving you."

"I was surprised too," she found herself spontaneously admitting. "Mostly because I don't feel like I deserve such a quick change of heart. I knew that leaving would break his heart because it broke mine too. That didn't stop me from, how did Nathan put it? running off with my tail between my legs. But I was so scared of what was going on here at the time..."

"What changed?" Duke asked, voice intent. "Things seem to have gotten even more dangerous around here since you left, so you can't possibly feel safer here now."

"But I do."

If Duke had anything in mind in response to that, he kept it to himself. Eventually he said, "I hope he realizes how much you care about him."

"Me too."

Before they thought of anything else to say, Jess pulled in to the hospital parking lot. She narrowly avoided the urge to ask him if he had his keys - surely he wouldn't had demanded she bring him to his car so he could drive back later if he'd failed to locate his keys. Still, she felt a measure of relief when he fished them out of his coat pocket.

Duke opened the door and took off his seatbelt before looking back at her. "Thanks for the ride."

"You're welcome."

As she watched him climb into his truck, she found herself idly wondering what he'd do to kill time until visiting hours started again. Maybe she was just looking for ideas herself. Ways to fill the hours that she had to spend alone.

* * *

><p>6 p.m.<p>

The moment visiting hours began, someone knocked on Audrey's door. She stiffened, expecting Duke to walk in, but it was one of the nurses. The nurse gave her a smile that seemed just a little too bright. ''Are you up for visitors?"

"No," Audrey said sharply.

The nurse looked surprised and a little uncertain. "Are you sure? Someone is quite eager to see you."

Knowing that Duke would be disappointed made her feel bad, but she was determined not to have him waste all his time on her. If she got better, she'd explain her motives to him later. And if she didn't... "I'm sure."

"Okay, then. I'll let him know that you're not feeling social today."

"Thank you."

As the nurse walked off she wanted to call the woman back and tell her that she had changed her mind, but she didn't. It was better for both of them this way.

* * *

><p>"I'm sorry," the nurse told Duke, giving him a sad little smile. "She said she doesn't want any visitors today."<p>

He stared at the woman in scrubs, trying to figure out if he'd misheard her. "You told her it was me?"

The nurse's smile slipped. "She made her wishes quite clear."

"Oh," Duke said heavily. Somehow he was left with the sense that he ought to have known that he still wouldn't be seeing Audrey. He just hadn't imagined that his gloomy prediction coming true was going to hinge on it being her choice.

He'd gotten to the hospital an hour earlier because Jess had told him that they'd be looking for him to fill out paperwork before he'd begun to gripe at her. He didn't want to have that be the thing that kept him from seeing Audrey, so he'd jumped through all their paper hoops and gotten his medical care straightened away, even putting the bill on his debit card.

"Are you all right?" the nurse asked, sounding more concerned than was professional.

"No," Duke admitted. "I'm afraid she hates me, and that's why she won't see me." As the words spilled out, he realized that he was offering this strange woman the bald-faced truth, and that made him uneasy. Sharing feelings with strangers had never been a popular pastime for him.

"Oh, I'm sure she doesn't," the nurse told him in a soothing tone usually reserved for distraught children and trying to talk patients off of ledges. "She's just confused and overwhelmed. You're certainly not the first loved one to be turned away by a newly admitted patient."

Loved one, was that what he was? Audrey had rarely been able to bring herself to say the L word when she had all her marbles, what was it going to be like now? _Don't think that_, he warned himself. _You think that and you admit that she might not get better. She's going to. She has to. I need her to_. Looking up at the nurse he just said, "Okay."

"I bet she'll see you tomorrow. You'll see."

He guessed that he would see. Duke sighed and settled back into the waiting room's chair. It couldn't hurt to wait around a while, just in case she changed her mind.

* * *

><p>Late That Night<p>

When the nurse had made Audrey take a sleeping pill, she'd warned her that she might hallucinate if she forced herself to stay awake. Audrey had promised to try her best to sleep, but even as the pill slide down her throat, she knew that sleep wasn't likely to find her immediately.

For a mind that lacked most of its interior decorating, it was busy enough. Thinking about what could come next kept her occupied. Nurses must have been coached to tell her that all would soon be well, but she hadn't failed to notice that they didn't meet her eyes when they said it. This only confirmed her suspicion that her lack of memory wasn't typical, even for people who experienced it as young as she did.

Someone had apparently thought she couldn't hear, or worse couldn't understand, and had spoken of what they'd do with her if she didn't get better relatively soon. Audrey didn't remember a place called The Freddy, but she caught on soon enough that it was a 'rest home' for people who couldn't take care of themselves, and not somewhere she was happy about the idea of being transferred to if she didn't get better. Whoever had been speaking was assured by another person unseen that it was a good sign that Audrey was making new memories, so even if she did end up somewhere like that, there was no reason to believe she wouldn't relearn things so she could take care of herself.

That should have been a reassuring piece of information, but the thought of having to learn how to be an independent grown up again just left her depressed. She didn't want to be rehabilitated and integrated into the community again sometime into the distance. She just wanted to wake up and remember.

The thoughts were impossible to turn off, and the only other thing to distract her was her body interrupting to remind her that she was achy. Duke had told her that they'd been in a boat that crashed, but she couldn't figure out how that had left streaks of bruises along her hips and her belly and her backside. It was almost like someone had squeezed her like a tube of toothpaste. Something else had happened to her recently, but of course she didn't know what. With a frustrated sigh that nearly verged on tears she punched her pillow and tried to get comfortable for the hundredth time.

Eventually her worries got sick of chewing on themselves, and her thoughts began to slow enough that she was finally becoming drowsy. The door to her room opened and she cracked her eyes open enough to see that there was someone standing just inside the room, staring at her. Even in the dim light it was pretty clear that the figure wasn't wearing scrubs or a lab coat.

Audrey let her eyelids close again. Apparently the sleeping pill had kicked in before she fell asleep, just like the nurse had warned her could happen. She didn't care what the hallucination over in the dark did, as long as it kept its hands to itself.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile...<p>

Nathan, on the other hand, hadn't been having any trouble getting to sleep. He found himself sleepy most of the day, and had asked his nurses if that was normal, and had gotten brush off answers for his trouble. If he'd been feeling better he would have accused them of keeping things from him, but he never seemed to think of it when he wasn't coated in fatigue.

Sleep was becoming a problem because it was hard to know what was real and what was a dream. Once he'd almost asked Jess if she'd really stripped to "Baby Elephant Dance" but he'd managed to realize it was unlikely before he blurted the question out. Even if she was inclined to take off her clothes in a hospital room, he thought she had better taste in music than that. And, unfortunately, most of the dreams he had were not nearly as pleasant.

At that very moment he was being tortured by aliens. And what was worse he'd been impregnated by one like in the Sims game that had been his father's secret vice. He'd been sworn to secrecy, threatened actually, never to let on that the man who had once gruffly led Haven's police department also like to play with what was basically a software equivalent of a doll house. Nathan had seen more than one man made of pixels wander his father's game with a swollen belly after being abducted while using a telescope, and in his dream the same thing had happened to him.

Or so he surmised from his swollen belly. Even though he knew it was a dream, he was afraid of what was in there. Somehow he feared that it wasn't going to be a relatively cute, if green, infant. The part that worried him the most was how it was going to get out. The Chief's game glossed over the impracticalities of male pregnancy, and Nathan desperately hoped that he was going to wake up before he found out.

"Oh, this isn't good," a voice near his ear said. Nathan looked up and found a pair of concerned hazel eyes looking down at him, but she was speaking to someone he couldn't see.

"Is his belly distended?" the other person asked, and Nathan wondered why the nursing staff was in his dream. Maybe his sleeping mind had decided that medical attention was the likely solution to having an alien fetus in him.

"Abdomen," the nurse corrected sharply. "But yes. Inform Doctor Stark at once."

Nathan looked up at the nurse. Was Stark an OB too? he wondered. "Am I going to have a C-section?"

"What?"

"To get the baby out," he said, confused as to why she was confused. People in dreams didn't usually need to have things explained to them. "The alien baby."

"Uh..."

Wow was this dream nurse slow. "I was abducted by aliens and now I'm going to have an alien baby," he explained. "Or half-alien, probably. The babies in the Chief's game had their human father's DNA too, not like that thing from the Alien trilogy."

Thank God it was a dream. He could picture having kids in the relative near future, but not within the next few days and certainly not a kid he'd have to comfort after being teased by the other kids in his kindergarten class for being green. How could you possibly parent a kid like that?

The nurse reached down and patted his arm, but the other hand pulled back his sheet and blanket. His belly was as swollen as it felt. "We're going to let your doctor know about the swelling."

"'The swelling'? That's very p.c. of you. That's even more p.c. than calling it a fetus." He kind of wondered if he'd see the baby before he woke up, though. It'd be interesting to know if it had any of his features. Not his blue eyes, but maybe his ears or his chin.

"I think you've been dreaming, Nathan," the nurse told him.

"I **am **dreaming," he insisted. He didn't like the worried look he got in response to this.

He was dreaming, wasn't he?

* * *

><p>Morning<p>

The blinds on the windows of Audrey's hospital room served more of a decorative role than a practical one; blades of sunlight slashed through the room, painting the sleeping woman with stripes. As the sun rose one of the blades of light settled on Audrey's face. Her eyelids twitched for a moment before she came awake with a frustrated groan.

_Where is Duke?_ she wondered muzzily. They had a deal - he'd protect her from the invading sun, and she wouldn't flail around in bed and assault him awake. Clearly he wasn't keeping up his end of their bargain...

Her eyes snapped open and her full-body startle reflex nearly toppled her out of the narrow bed. The first thing she looked for was a call button to summon a nurse, but before she could, it occurred to her that she needed to calm down before she spoke to anyone else. Being hysterical would only get her sedated, and that was the last thing she needed.

So she curled up on the bed and forced herself to concentrate on breathing appropriately. For half a second she wished that she had paid more attention to Duke's futile efforts to teach her yoga.

Thinking of Duke made her heart race again, so she began to scold herself_. I will calm down and present myself as a rational person fully in possession of all her faculties. I won't blow my chance to get out of here because I'm worried about my boyfriend and my best friend. I'm rational, dammit, and I'm getting the hell out of here._

Still trying to be a Zen as possible, Audrey got dressed and found her brushing toothbrush in the bathroom, and she vaguely recalled being told that someone had brought them to her. Ten minutes later she finally hit the call button next to her bed.

A nurse appeared two minutes later. "How can I help you?"

"I want to go home," Audrey said as politely she could.

"I'm sure you do," the nurse said sympathetically. "And I'm sure that boyfriend of yours wants you home too. I finally chased him out of here, sleeping in the waiting room, at two in the morning."

Duke had hung around until two? Audrey decided to try again. "I want to go home because I woke up and remembered everything about my life."

"Did you, dear?" The look the nurse gave her was decidedly skeptical.

"I did," Audrey said. "And I'd rather you call me Officer Parker than dear. Or call me Audrey, that's good too."

Something about this sold the nurse, who broke into a sunny smile. "I'll go let the doctor on call know."

"Thank you," Audrey said gratefully.

She turned on the TV while she waited and was halfway through a rerun of the Golden Girls when a man in a lab coat knocked on the door. "I hear that you're feeling better," he said as she motioned for him to enter.

"Much," she confirmed.

"I believe that," he said to her surprise. "You no longer looked terrified."

"I woke up this morning and remembered everything. So I'd like to go."

While waiting Audrey had imagined a movie-style interrogation, complete with a blazing, sweat-inducing light but the doctor's quiz was pretty tame. After just a few minutes of conversation he called for someone to bring discharge papers.

As soon as all the Is were dotted and the Ts crossed, the doctor gave her a long look. "I'm sure you're feeling a combination of relief and excitement right now, but I want you to make room to feel something else too."

"What's that?"

"Caution. If you start to feel the least bit odd again, I want you back here immediately. I'm glad you seem to have recovered without lasting effects, but what happened to you is serious."

"I understand," Audrey said even as she was thinking that her memory loss probably hadn't been medical in nature.

"Good." His stern expression melted into a smile. "Take it easy, Officer Parker."

Audrey sighed. "Only until someone at the station demands my statement."

"Until then, anyway."

"I'll try."

* * *

><p>Once a nurse wheeled Audrey out of the hospital as their policy dictated, she hopped out of the wheelchair and headed back inside, much to the nurse's amusement. "What? You did your job," Audrey protested lightly.<p>

She hadn't forgotten anything inside, though the nurse of probably jump to that conclusion. Instead Audrey's destination was the nurses' station on Nathan's floor. It didn't take her very long to reach that part of the hospital.

"Hi, I like to see Nathan Wuornos. Can you tell me what room he's in?" she asked with a winning smile.

The smile was wasted. "I can give you the room number, but it's not visiting hours."

"I just got released from this hospital, after being here without my memory, and you're saying I can't go see my partner for a few minutes?" She really did just intend to spend a few minutes before going to find Duke.

"Not until visiting hours," the nurse said firmly.

"Worrying about me can't be good for his health," Audrey said, trying another tactic. She didn't like the way the nurse avoided looking her in the eye.

For a second she thought the nurse might give in because even with the computer screen not facing her, Audrey could tell she'd just typed in Nathan's name. If anything, the nurse's expression became even more stony after that.

"You're not going to help me out, are you?" Audrey asked after a while. The nurse's lips compressed into a grim line and she said nothing.

Audrey walked off in a huff, thinking unflattering things about the nurses' attitudes about law enforcement.

* * *

><p>Thinking about what the first nurse had said about Duke made her wonder where she should go to find him. If he'd really been thrown out of the hospital at two in the morning, would he have gone all the way back to his boat, or would he of crashed in her apartment instead? He had to know that she wouldn't have minded.<p>

In the end it was mostly her nerves that made her decide to look on his boat first. The thought of going back to her apartment alone made her feel more uncomfortable than she wanted to admit.

It was to her relief that she found his Land Rover parked close to his boat. Glad that she didn't have any residual dizziness, she hopped lightly onto the deck, and went to find him. He wasn't up yet, which was hardly surprising considering it wasn't even seven in the morning yet.

What did surprise her, though, was finding him in bed wearing only flannel boxers, and not even covered by a sheet. She herself would've been freezing dressed like that, but he looked comfortable. It almost seemed like a shame to wake him up, but they really needed to talk.

When she bent near enough to shake him awake, she reconsidered her regret. He wasn't thrashing around, but his eyes were squeezed tightly shut and his mouth puckered into a frown. Maybe he wouldn't mind an abrupt wake up after all.


	38. A Terrible Secret

In Duke's dream someone much larger than him had his hand in a tight grip, and was yanking him down a street. He tried hard to resist, but he was so much smaller that it just slowed her down a little. The worry that she'd simply pick him up and make him even more helpless was there too, so he didn't put his whole heart into his struggle.

The dream flaked away when he realized that his shoulder was actually being shaken. Opening his eyes, he saw Audrey standing over him. When he noticed her expression he bolted up in bed. It wasn't blank.

Instead, she looked upset, and had her arms wrapped around herself. "Hey," he said, wondering what was going on. Wondering if he was dreaming. "Are you al-"

"I remember," she told him.

"You remember what, exactly?"

She stopped holding herself, and let one hand flutter up in space. "Haven. What happened when I opened the door...and other things."

Duke patted his mattress, and she took the invitation, fitting herself against him. "What kind of other things?" He narrowly resisted the urge to push her hair out of her face, and only managed to keep his twitching fingers to himself when he figured that any distraction might break the spell that compelled her to tell the story.

Audrey sighed. "Like sitting at a piano bench. I was probably around eight years old. A woman watched as I practiced scales."

"I thought you said that the other Audrey didn't know how to play the piano."

"She doesn't, Duke." Audrey looked up at him. "But I do."

"Are you saying you not only got your memories of the past several months back, but the ones from before then too?" Duke asked cautiously.

"I think so."

His stomach flopped, and he didn't know what he what emotion that statement was supposed to evoke. Happiness for her that she could finally remember something about her life before Haven, something real from then? Terror that she'd also realized that she wasn't the sort of woman who belonged with a man like him? Both? The thought of what her "real" life could have been like prior to her appearance in Haven made him feel dizzy and sick both. A pang of self-loathing passed through him as he realized that he ought to feel empathy for her, but he was too overwhelmed with worry that what she might feel for him now that she had a past that might be incompatible with dating the likes of him.

_How did I not ever think about this happening?_ Duke asked himself. _We even talked briefly about her having had a childhood, so how could I have failed to consider that a childhood, a past, would have come with lots of memories of it? I just didn't want to think about it._

Sighing, he got out of his bed and rummaged through his sock drawer. He found what he was looking for after a few seconds and returned to sit next to her, but not quite as close as before. He unfolded the paper and smoothed it out before handing it to her. "Nathan had this faxed to him a few days ago."

Audrey bent her head, studying the sheet of paper. Eventually she used a finger to trace the jagged mark in the image of the baby's footprint. Then she looked up at him. "He gave this to you?"

Duke laughed unhappily. "At the time we were both afraid that he was at death's door, so I figure that he gave it to me to make sure that you got it, even if..."

Her expression folded into worry. "Is he that bad? I know now that you told me about him getting shot, but-"

"Jess would have told me if there's anything to worry about. We made a deal when you were missing, promising to keep each other in the loop," Duke assured her. He was worried about Nathan too, but at that moment that was remote compared to his fear about what Audrey had remembered. "It's hard to believe that he thought enough of my theory about your history to look into it, but Nathan's full of surprises."

"Yes, he is," she muttered. Her eyes were scanning the text. "There's no father listed."

"But hey, at least we know you had a mother," he tried to joke, but it fell flat. "You must have been why Lucy left Haven."

Audrey sighed and folded the birth certificate. "And that's another thing for me to feel guilty about."

"Another?" he asked, trying to keep his voice from shaking.

"I have parents, Duke. I don't mean Lucy, obviously, but people who raised me. They must think that I vanished off the face of the earth."

"Oh." The thought that there were other people out there with a vested interest in her life ratcheted up the dismay he felt. _God, if she really had a life, what if she was in love with someone else before being ripped out of her old life? What if there's a husband out there frantically searching for his wife, who simply disappeared without a trace? _To his horror his mind then summoned up an image of a baby next, one who looked a lot like Jean except fair-haired, but he tried to banish the idea that her real life had been that complete. Many women her age had children, but many didn't. It didn't make sense to worry about it unless she said something to indicate it was a real possibility. Self-loathing made a comeback when he realized that the idea of a baby scared him so much because it would be a stronger tie to another man, maybe stronger than their own tie to each other; she wasn't the sort of person to have brought a child into the world as carelessly as he had.

Audrey must have been seeped in a misery of her own because she didn't seem to notice that he had drifted off into silence so he could worry. "At least I was an only child, so I don't have to worry about having brothers or sisters worried sick about me too."

"Do you want to call your parents?" Duke asked awkwardly. That was probably what people who actually liked their families did after a long, unintentional, estrangement. It had been years since he'd spoken to his older brothers and they'd been no more eager to keep in touch than he was. At least she still hadn't mentioned a husband or boyfriend.

Her shoulders slumped and she dropped her face into her hands. For a moment he hesitated before putting an arm around her. To his relief, she didn't push him away. Instead she shifted against him, fitting against his side the same way as always. "No. Just...no."

"Okay," he murmured. "Do you...I'm not wrong to think that you remember a lot now, right? Do you want to talk about...that?" _Please say no_, he thought before sneering at himself for being a coward.

Audrey lifted her head and shook it. "Not now."

Duke tried not to sound relieved. "Right."

"Now I wanted to know what you had been about to tell me when I opened my eyes after passing out. Clearly that building didn't just affect me."

"Oh. I didn't know you'd remember that too..." In his mind's eye he pictured himself next to the antique truck, crouched over her, saying _"You're not going to believe what I suddenly remem-"_ and since then he'd been too worried about her to give his own newly surfaced memories another thought.

"That much I recall. Tell me what it was you were going to say then." When he glanced at her expression, he saw that her eyes were clearly asking to be distracted.

He sighed. "While we ate dinner the night we discovered my father's journal, you said that Lucy Ripley told you 'someone died. You discovered a terrible secret, how all these troubles started and how you could finally stop them.' Right?"

"That's what she said."

"I know who died," Duke told her bleakly. "I couldn't remember any of the details for years, but now I do. It's funny how it's suddenly so clear-" he stopped short when he realized that she probably felt that even more strongly than he did. "Well, I probably don't have to tell you what it's like."

"Who died?" Audrey asked quietly, not even a ghost of a smile on her face.

The need to protect her welled up in him, but she was an adult, not a child to be shielded from reality so he tried to tamp that instinct back down rather than succumb to the urge to sugarcoat his story. Still..."Before I tell you, I want you to tell me something. You don't need to tell me the details, but were your parents good to you? Was your childhood with them a happy one?"

She looked puzzled, but she nodded. "Do you think I'd feel this guilty for vanishing if they didn't love me fiercely? They're good parents, Duke. But I don't understand what that has to do with any-"

"Nathan's mother is who died," Duke said quietly. Audrey still looked confused, so he forced himself to go on. "She died protecting me, I think."

"From who?"

"From Lucy. She saved me from your mother, Audrey."

"From my...I always wondered why you looked so grim in that photo the day of the Kid's murder..." She trailed off entirely from her half-formed thoughts and he could feel her shudder before she spoke again. "You wanted to know if I'd had parents who loved me before you told me that my biological mother was a killer."

"Yeah. Killing my father is one thing, but Nathan's mother...she was a good woman. My mother had her moments when I was growing up, but Nathan's was the real deal."

"It's not like I ever had some idealized view of Lucy, Duke."

Duke raised an eyebrow. "If Simon taught me anything, it's that our feelings about our parents are complex, even if we didn't like them."

"I didn't like her or dislike her. I didn't know her," Audrey insisted.

He nodded but privately thought that she would have to come to terms with what her mother was anyway. "Still."

"How did it happen?"

"We'll get to that. I said I know who died, but I probably know what she meant by discovering a terrible secret and how to stop the troubles too." Duke shifted on the bed, trying to make them both a little more comfortable. "I'm the terrible secret, Audrey. Or my family is, actually."

"Your trouble, you mean," she said, catching on.

"Yeah. Somehow she decided that if my family died, the troubles would die with us. But unlike our power to remove troubles, my whole family had to be dead and buried in order for the troubles to end, every last one of us. At least that's how her dubious logic went."

"How do you know what her theory was?"

"She told me."

Audrey looked aghast. "She TOLD you?"

"Yes. Before she let me go."

Audrey shook her head as if that'd clear her mind. It reminded him of using an etch-a-sketch with Julia when they were small, not that he wanted to think about her, either. "I don't understand any of this, Duke."

"I know. And I'll be honest with you, I didn't put two and two together until recently myself. Maybe I was too scared to understand until now, or maybe it was just because I didn't want to believe it..." he trailed off shaking his head. "You don't have any idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

"Not really," she admitted.

"I guess I should start at the beginning, then. The first thing you need to know is that things got pretty bad at home when my father was, uh, missing, I guess is how you'd put it. My mother wasn't a drinker or anything, not like he'd been, but she took double shifts just to make the mortgage payments. Working that much takes a toll on anyone, and she was tired all the time. So she slept a lot when she wasn't working. That meant that I was left on my own quite a bit. No one at child services screamed about it because she was technically home with me, you know?" Duke looked at her for confirmation that it hadn't been that awful a situation, and she nodded slightly. That made him feel marginally better, because he couldn't bear the thought of having people think both of his parents had been worthless, and clearly Audrey had that - correct - opinion about his father already.

"There were two people who didn't like this arrangement very much, though. One of them was Nathan's mother. And the other one was, um, yours. Nathan's mother acted like a mom - she had me over for dinner and sleepovers, even though the chief wasn't really all that fond of having me around. His objections became more strenuous once Nathan lost the ability to feel because he thought we played too rough and was afraid that Nathan would get hurt without knowing it. He actually did, more than once."

"Like the day he went sledding?" Audrey asked.

"Yeah. I wasn't with him that day, though. Anyway, your mother - God that sounds strange to say - took a different sort of interest in me."

"What kind?" her voice quivered a little, making him feel bad.

"The thing you have to remember is that I was eight. I didn't have the wherewithal to question an adult's motives yet, and I missed both of my parents intensely. Everyone was telling me that my father was dead, and my mother...I hardly saw her except on the weekends. People wonder where my interest in cooking stems from and none of them stops to think that I learned how to cook to keep myself fed. Mom brought home groceries, but if I wanted anything cooked..." He grimaced. "I'm off the rails, huh?"

"Maybe a little."

"That's what I love about you, you're not the type to kick someone when he's down." Normally she would have had a smart remark, but they were both too focused on their new memories to be playful. "I was a lonely vulnerable kid, and your mother was smart enough to realize that. So, she befriended me."

"How?"

Duke shrugged. "The usual way. That necklace I gave you on your birthday, she'd given it to me, and now I guess it was just one more way to win my trust. But mostly she didn't try to buy my affection...I spent a lot of time outside, either in the yard or in the park down the street. She'd come by and talk to me. What I didn't realize then was that her questions about my father and half brothers weren't just her taking a casual interest in a lonely little boy."

"She was grilling you about them," Audrey said grimly.

"Yeah. She wanted to know where the boys were, so I figure now that they were on her hit list after me." He shook his head. "If she'd killed them, it would have been all my fault. Of course, I wouldn't be alive either to have felt guilty about it, but still."

After patting his shoulder, Audrey's brow furrowed. "But she ended up killing Nathan's mom instead?"

"I think that it was an accident. She claimed it was one, anyway."

"How did that happen?"

He sighed. "It was a pretty typical night. Nathan's mom invited me to have dinner and spend the night, and Nathan's dad thought we should do something constructive, which usually meant helping him with yard work or something."

"That sounds like the chief," Audrey interrupted.

"Doesn't it?" Duke's mouth quirked, but never quite formed a smile. "I think he just wanted to keep an eye on us, to tell the truth. Anyway, that night we were helping him put on the storm windows after dinner but before the A-Team came on. The chief told us not to climb the ladder, and just to hand the windows up to him, and you'll be shocked to know that I listened. Nathan didn't.

"Half way up the ladder Nathan slipped, and fell off. The fall wouldn't have been a big deal if he'd been empty handed but... There was a lot of blood. And he didn't even know he was cut until the chief and I both started yelling. He turned white as a sheet when he looked down and noticed all that red. I worried that he was going to faint, and so did his dad judging by the way he lunged for him."

"That's one hell of a disturbing mental picture you're drawing," she murmured.

"Sorry. The chief wanted to send me home for the night, but Nathan's mom insisted that I stay at the house with her while he brought Nathan in for stitches. I volunteered to go home, but she was adamant that I stay. So, we waited and worried about Nathan, hardly paying attention at all to the TV. Then I went to bed. It seemed really strange to be in the guest room like I was all the nights Nathan was next door. Eventually, though, I finally fell asleep."

"And then?"

"Then I heard a noise in the hall. At first I figured that it was Nathan and his dad getting home, so I slipped out of bed because I wanted to know how many stitches Nathan got that time - I was kind of keeping track for him since it was cool in a way that only appeals to small boys. But when I heard Nathan's mom shout, I didn't leave the room. She sounded really angry at someone."

"Lucy."

"It was so confusing that night..." Duke plucked at his blanket. "As best I can piece it together, Lucy knew that I spent the night at Nathan's pretty often, and decided to grab me there when she saw the chief leave with Nathan. I imagine her waiting in the bushes, just killing time while waiting for Mrs. Wournos to go to bed-"

"Why there instead of at your house?" Audrey asked.

"Maybe because Nathan's mom was a tiny little thing and seemed like less of a threat than mine, who apparently attracted my dad by being as tall and strong for a woman as he was for a man. Or maybe she figured that my mom would fight harder to protect me that a woman who wasn't my mother would." Duke frowned. "If she thought the latter, she was totally off base. For some reason Nate's mom really liked me, and even if she hadn't, she was super protective of children in general. She was on the PTA for Christ's sake. I can't say that why Lucy decided to try to kidnap me at their house ever came up in our conversation after that."

"So you hesitated by the door, listening to the two women arguing," Audrey prompted.

"Things got heated, but I still couldn't figure out who the other voice belong to. Maybe I didn't want to."

"Of course you didn't want to. You liked Lucy."

"In any case I finally got up the courage to open the door, and I'd merely cracked it open a few inches, not enough to see anything more than someone's legs, when a hand shot out and shoved me away from the door. I fell on my butt and by the time I got up, whoever it was slammed the door back shut." Duke shook his head. "But what I don't know was who it was that kept me in the room."

"Don't you think it was Nathan's mother, wanting to keep you safe?" Audrey asked, giving him a look like she didn't think it was much of a mystery.

"Was it?" Duke's stare pieced her. "What if it was Lucy trying to keep herself from hurting me? She didn't go through with it later, so maybe she was having second thoughts even then."

"I don't know, Duke. She was capable of violence."

"But towards a child? There's crossing a line, and then there's hurtling right over it."

"That's true."

"Eventually there was a scream-" He shivered, picturing it all over again. "And I threw the door open hoping it wouldn't be slammed in my face again. It wasn't. I was just in time to hear the front door open, then the chief yell. I came to the top of the stairs and the very first thing I saw was Nathan's shocked expression. Then I saw his mother sprawled at the bottom of the stairs. I think I already knew she was dead, just from the look on Nathan's face."

"God, Duke," Audrey groaned. She put her arms around him, but it didn't make him feel much better. "How long before the Kid's murder was this?"

"Three months? I'm sure Nathan would know exactly how long, but I'm not going to ask him. Three months and I never let myself decide that Lucy caused her death. The chief and then the coroner decided that she'd tripped on the stairs, falling to break her neck. I tried to tell them that someone else had been there that night, but everyone just patted me on the head. Apparently there hadn't been any evidence of that found by the police, so they assumed that I'd been dreaming or something."

"And thus spawned your distrust in law enforcement," Audrey grumbled.

"I never really thought of it like that, but probably. So three months go by, and Lucy is still my 'friend' which became even more important after we lost Nate's mom. Nothing struck me as at all strange about that until the day of the Kid's murder."

"You remember that day now?" she asked, before shaking her head. "Wait, if I can remember an entire lifetime, why am I surprised that day has come back to you? Go on, tell me what happened that day."

"Right. My mother paid Vanessa to walk me to school every morning. Less to keep me safe than to make sure I didn't take off like one would only naturally assume a son of Simon Crocker's would. We were on our way there when she ran into her friend Kelly, and told me to stay 'right there' while they talked.

"I intended to but then Lucy appeared beside me. She took me by the hand, and started walking really fast. Vanessa was so wrapped up in her conversation that she didn't even notice that I hadn't stayed put after all. I protested to Lucy that we weren't going the right way, and she said we weren't going to school. Up until that very second I didn't feel afraid of her. Then I did. Audrey, the look on her face...

"She started apologizing, saying that I was a nice boy, and that she didn't want to do 'it' but she'd thought through all the angles, and there was no other way to fix things. Then she asked me if I wanted Nathan to get better. Of course I said yes. She asked how much, so I said a lot. Her face became grim and she said that the only way he'd get better, and for other people who were sick like him to get better, was if my family died."

"That sounds terrifying."

"It was. I'd thought she'd suddenly gone insane, and I'm not convinced that she hadn't."

"She wouldn't be the first. Apparently Sarah, who is probably my grandmother, changed over time too," Audrey told him. "At least going by what Dave and Vince told me. A family history of insanity brings me no end of comfort, let me tell you."

Duke stared at her, wondering what he was supposed to say. He didn't think she'd lose her mind, but that was probably not all that reassuring, especially since he'd just admitted that he had a proven track record when it came to missing the progression of mental illness. "Sorry?"

"Just keep an eye on me, okay?"

"I promise. Anyway, right around the time I realized that she was serious about hurting me, I discovered that I couldn't break away from her. If it wasn't for the man taking pictures of the Kid's body when we walked by, I probably wouldn't be here right now."

"He spooked her?"

"I guess he knocked some sense into her, at least enough to worry about being caught and eventually tried for murder. So she let me go."

"She just let you go?"

"After she babbled about how she'd finally realized right then that her plan wasn't going to work, that she was so very sorry that Nathan's mom had died, and making me promise to help the troubled if I need to, she let me go. I never saw her again."

Audrey looked puzzled. "Is she responsible for your memory loss? And everyone else's that day?"

"That's the thing, I still don't know. I remember watching her rabbit off and then walking back to Vanessa and her friend like nothing happened. I don't remember why I never said anything about Lucy dragging me off, though." Duke gave a rueful laugh. "Other than deciding that no one would believe me, that is. I just let Vanessa yell at me for not staying where she told me to, and never even protested that I hadn't wandered off on my own."

"Thank you for telling me about what happened."

"You don't have to thank me. Nothing I've told you could possibly have made you happier."

"No, but it's a piece of the puzzle that I didn't have before."

"The puzzle?"

Audrey motioned down the length of her body.

"Ah." Duke kissed her cheek. "You can wait as long as you need to to tell me about the other pieces."

"Actually, I think I'm ready now, despite how guilty I feel about it all."

* * *

><p>"What do you have to feel guilty about?" Duke asked abruptly. "It's not like you volunteered for this. You didn't, did you?" he added as an apparent afterthought.<p>

"No," she told him, wondering what he saw when he studied her face the way he was doing right then.

"Then-"

"My life before this..." Audrey took a shuddery breath. "It was easy to leave."

"What do you mean?"

"I was just spinning my wheels. My parents tried to be supportive, but even they were getting sick of me drifting from one thing to another. After I got out of school I tried so many different jobs, but none of them seemed to fit. Out of desperation my father suggested I go to nursing school, and I did. When I..." She waved a hand. "I was less than a semester away from flunking out.

"Relationships didn't come any easier. I made friends, but somehow I always ended up doing something wrong, so we'd drift apart. And men, God." Audrey looked at his face and noticed how green he'd suddenly become, so she reached out and put her hand on his knee, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I had one long relationship but we broke up when he wanted to move to the west coast and I didn't. After that, there were a few guys I went on a date or two with, but none of them really wanted to stick around and I didn't miss them when they left.

"In every aspect of my life, I was so aimless," she concluded.

"A lot of people are like that in their twenties," Duke protested.

Audrey gave him a very direct look. "I wasn't given a choice when it came to leaving my old life behind, but if I had been...I would have agreed to become someone else in a second, Duke."

"Oh. And you feel guilty about that?" he asked.

She wondered if he was thinking about their fight over forgetting the past too. It seemed like it had been forever ago, so maybe not. "No. I feel guilty because now that I know who I was I'm not going to go back. Instead I'm going to leave my parents wondering what happened to me. It's selfish, but I don't want to go back to being the girl I was before."

Duke grimaced. "I hate to say it, Audrey, but after this long, they probably think you died."

"Then they're right," she said fiercely. "The girl they miss is gone for good."

"What was your name be-" Duke started to ask, but she put one finger over his lips.

"No, Duke. Don't ask me. I won't tell you, and I don't want to fight about it."

"All right."

"All right?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"You have your reasons. Nathan will try to ferret it out, though, you have to know that."

"I know."

* * *

><p>Duke looked off in the distance for a moment, trying to come to a decision. "I think we need to call Nathan to see if he's feeling well enough for a visit. I promised that I'd keep him in the loop in regards to how you are, and you regaining your wits is pretty big news."<p>

It didn't come as a big surprise when he immediately had pillow whomped into his face – the remark had been designed to provoke such a reaction because he wanted to see her feel something other than guilt and sorrow, even if was annoyance at him. Anything to keep her from wallowing in despair over something she couldn't change. "Not that I'm saying you were witless," he protested, giving her a sly grin.

"You better not have been implying that, Duke Crocker."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

Holding the phone out, Duke asked, "Would you like to do the honors?"

Audrey balked, shaking her head. "I don't think that's a good idea. He really won't be expecting to talk to me, after all."

"Sure, okay." He dialed the number and began to speak as soon as the call connected. "Hey, Nathan, good ne-" The voice that interrupted wasn't Nathan's less than pleased one. "Wait, I'm not sure I understand," Duke said after listening for several moments.

"What is it?" Audrey hissed, tugging on his arm.

Duke shook his head then held a finger to his lips while he continued to listen. "Okay. We'll be there as soon as we can. Yes, we as in Audrey and I. It's a long story, but I'll explain later."

As soon as he hung up, Audrey demanded his attention. "What's going on? Who were you just talking to? I know it wasn't Nathan."

"That was Jess. Nathan's seriously ill. They moved him to the ICU a few hours ago. Jess was just gathering up stuff the nurses left behind when they moved him, so we're lucky we caught her."

"What kind of seriously ill?" Audrey demanded to know.

"He's jaundiced and besides being a lemony color that matches his usual sour attitude towards me, he's also showing other signs of liver failure."

"Jesus, Duke, this is hardly the time to be making jokes!"

"Sorry," he muttered contritely. He wanted to point out that it's harder to cry if you're laughing, but he didn't think that would be well received.

"How do they fix that?"

"I don't know. Jess promised that a doctor would explain when we got there."

"Why?"

"Why what?" Duke asked blankly.

"Why would a doctor explain things to us? It's not like I'm his wife or you're his brother. We're just his friends."

Duke shrugged, thinking it was weird but fitting to be called Nathan's friend again. "Who else are they going to tell? It's not like Nathan has any family left. Hell, he barely has a girlfriend."

She looked startled. "You mean Jess?"

"Of course I mean Jess. Who else would I mean-" He cut himself off when something dawned on him. "Sorry. I forgot that you don't know."

"Know what?"

"Recently he and Jess finally...you know."

Audrey frowned. "Before or after he was shot?"

"Audrey, eww. Before. Obviously."

"What?" she protested.

He cocked his head. "Hospitals aren't exactly a romantic setting, even when neither of you is hooked up to IVs or recovering from bullet wounds."

"Says someone who never watched **e.r.** or **Grey's Anatomy**," Audrey retorted.

"I'm quite proud of that, actually," Duke quipped before reality intruded again and sobered him. "Grab your coat. The sooner we get there, the sooner we know what's wrong."

"And how to fix it," Audrey added firmly.

"And how to fix it," Duke repeated, though he wasn't quite as convinced that things could be fixed. He wasn't about to say that to her, though.


	39. Unsettled

Duke kept glancing at Audrey as they approached the entrance to the hospital. She seemed calmer than he would have been if he'd returned to the scene of where he'd been held against his will as recently as she had. It made him wonder if she let things go easier than he could, or if she was just masking her anxiety about being there because she was so concerned about Nathan.

As soon as they got inside, Jess waved them over to where she was standing with a middle-aged doctor with graying hair and a paunch whose name tag declared him to be Doctor Stark. The doctor looked at them, and gave a brief grimace that made Duke want to punch him. Before he could ask what his problem was, Stark turned to Jess. "Are you sure this is wise?"

"Yes," Jess said firmly, glaring at the older man. It wasn't much of a stretch for Duke to realize that he and Jess knew each other better than she would have liked. He'd put money on this not being the first time the two didn't see eye to eye. Sometime he'd have to ask exactly what it was that she did at the hospital.

The doctor sighed. "Since there is no next of kin, and Mr. Wournos has agreed to let me discuss his medical issues with you, I will tell you what's going on. Please bear in mind that I only do so with great reluctance-"

"Doc, we don't give a damn about your reluctance," Duke snapped at him. "Just tell us what the hell is going on with Nathan."

After glaring at Duke for a minute, the doctor sighed. "Mr. Wournos is showing signs of acute liver failure."

"Why?" Duke interrupted to ask. "They told me that the bullet didn't damage any of his organs."

"It didn't, like most instances of acute liver failure this is a problem that developed over just the last couple of days. The damage to his liver is due to the antibiotic he was given to stave off infection." The doctor gave him a dirty look, making Duke realize that the man placed any possible infection squarely on his shoulders. He felt like protesting, but didn't when he admitted that if it was anyone's fault it was his own. "As you may know Mr. Wournos is allergic to several antibiotics, which limited our options. Most people tolerate tetracycline well, but in some patients it damages the liver. Unfortunately, this is one of those situations."

"I'm sorry," Audrey began. "I don't really care why Nathan's sick. I just want to know what the plan is for getting him better."

To Duke's surprise, Stark looked like he approved. Duke cynically decided that the man was probably just happy to get off the topic of culpability. "We're going to do what we can to restore liver function."

"And if that doesn't work?" Audrey asked sharply.

"In a small number of cases the liver function can't be restored and the patient needs to have a liver transplant. And in the very worst case scenario he or she also experiences renal failure as well."

"How long does that take?" Duke wanted to know. "Typically, I mean. How long do people take from going from how sick Nathan is to needing a transplant?"

The doctor spread his hands. "There isn't a typical timeline."

"So you're saying that it could happen at any time. Great."

Audrey waved her hands to draw their attention to her. "Aren't livers the easiest organ to match for?"

"Easier than most," Stark allowed.

"On TV they claim you just have to be the same blood type," Audrey continued.

"It's a little more complicated than that, but having the same blood type is the starting point."

"Nathan and I have the same blood type," Audrey said, making Duke remember the day of the blood drive and his O+ joke. His own blood type was AB, and he was unsure if that completely ruled him out because he dimly recalled something about type O blood and universality. He could never remember if Os could give to everyone, or get from everyone, though, or if it even extended beyond blood. It might be worth asking someone, someone friendlier than the doctor speaking to them, about.

Duke was so wrapped up in thinking about blood that he almost missed it when Audrey said, "I think you should see if I'm a compatible potential donor."

"Hopefully it won't come to that," Doctor Stark protested.

_I hope not_, Duke thought to himself, _I don't want Nathan that sick, and Audrey already has one scar complicating her life_.

"Wouldn't knowing now if I'm a good match speed the process up if it comes to that?"

The man looked torn, and Duke was almost sure that he was going to accuse her of fatalism, but he didn't. "Yes."

"So test my DNA or whatever you need to. I'm not afraid of needles."

"DNA tests involve cheek swabs, Audrey," Jess said, breaking her silence. "They don't need blood."

Duke liked the way she phrased it, as if it the doctor agreeing to see if Audrey was a good match was a foregone conclusion. He gave her a wan smile, but she didn't notice.

"Even better," Audrey replied. "I was lying about not being afraid of needles."

_How about scalpels_, _Audrey?_ Duke wondered. _How about them cutting you open and pulling out part of your liver, like that Greek myth they made Nate and I read in seventh grade?_ Somehow he knew that all of that would matter less to her than making Nathan well. Her bravery was nothing anyone ever questioned.

Though he looked on the verge of having a tantrum, the doctor just nodded sharply. "Fine. I'll find a nurse who can administer the test."

"Now?" Audrey prompted.

"As soon as possible," Stark said shortly. "Nurses are busy men and women, and I'm not going to find one who'll be willing to drop everything to do this for you, not when it's not an emergency."

"That's fine," Audrey said much more nicely than the man deserved. Duke wondered if the doctor realized that she couldn't stand him, either.

Jess stepped towards Audrey and put a hand on her forearm and glanced at Duke before saying, "Thank you, Doctor Stark. I can find us a nurse."

The look on the doctor's face was decidedly less than pleased, and Duke suddenly realized that Jess was on better terms with the nurses than he was. _He's jealous?_ Duke wondered, looking at the older man. It probably would tick a person off if a newcomer to the hospital had a better rapport with the women and men he had to depend upon than he himself did.

"Very well," Stark said stiffly before walking away.

Jess started forward, but Duke didn't follow. When she looked back at him he finally asked, "Uh, stupid question, but what is it that you do here anyway? I've been meaning to ask for a while, but..." he held his hands out palms up.

"Patient advocacy," Jess explained. "He's ticked because he thinks I'm over stepping my bounds in this instance."

"Because of your relationship with Nathan?" Audrey looked a little surprised. "What, he thinks it's a conflict of interest?"

"Probably."

"Nathan doesn't have anyone else to stand up for him-" She shot Duke a look when he opened his mouth to protest. "-in an official capacity here, so he expects you just to stand by and say nothing just because you're involved?"

"I don't know about expect, but I'm sure he thinks it would be easier if I did."

Duke made a dismissive noise. "If he actually expects people to go out of their way to make things easier on him, he's got more of a sense of entitlement than most people I've ever met."

Jess looked resolute. "And he's seriously mistaken if he thinks I'll be cowed by him. Come on, I think that Janice or Harold might be able to do a DNA test for us now. It'll only take a few minutes and Audrey does most of the work anyway."

"I do?"

"Yup. You swab your own cheeks and hand the swabs over to be packaged and labeled."

Audrey looked slightly worried. "What if I don't do it right?"

"They give you a bunch of swabs just in case. I think the kit contains four or five."

"That's not like on TV," Duke observed.

Jess smiled wanly. "So few things are."

* * *

><p>Duke had seemed subdued after they left the hospital and went to his boat, so Audrey should have realized that there was something on his mind. But she was still startled when he gave her an exasperated look and said, "Would you please just get yelling at me over with? I'm tired of waiting for you to lecture me about how none of this would have happened if Nathan and I acted like adults instead of children. So please say whatever it is that you've been holding back."<p>

He looked absolutely astonished when her response was to kiss him. But he wasn't too surprised to run his hands down her body, stopping to cup her behind. Before they could get too carried away, he pulled back and gave her a questioning look. "I'm not complaining, mind you, but..."

She reached up and placed a finger over his lips for the second time that day. "Shhh."

Duke took her hand away and gave her a hard look. "Audrey."

"I... I just don't want to rehash everything," she said simply. "I'd much rather spend our night not talking."

He gave a surprised yelp of laughter, and shook his head when she gave him a questioning look. "When you told me that you remembered your past, I was instantly terrified that we would never do this again."

"Why?" she asked blankly.

"Why? Because maybe you'd remember that you weren't the kind of girl who should be with the likes of a man like me."

"Oh Duke," she sighed. "The girl I used to be, it's not like she had a completely different moral core or set of ethics. She would have loved you too."

"You don't know how good that is to hear."

Giving him a coy smile she said, "I bet you can try and show me."

"I probably could," he agreed, grinning back.

She took his hand and headed towards his bedroom, hoping that he wouldn't realize that part of the reason she was so happy to be with him on his boat was that spending the night there meant that she wouldn't have to face going back to her apartment. The only way she could reconcile the memories of her old life and her life in Haven would be to overlay yet another set of memories over them, and Duke's boat was a far better starting place for that than her own as far as she was concerned.

Duke startled her by pausing at the threshold of his room. Giving her an intent look, he huskily asked, "Are you sure you can still love me?"

"After you didn't run away when I had no idea who I was, and had nothing to offer you in return for standing by me?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'm sure you're still the sort of man I can love. That I do love," she added, putting a hand on his chest. "That I'm in love with."

His only reply was a slow smile.

* * *

><p>The Next Day<p>

When Audrey woke she stretched luxuriously, and was happy to have Duke as a warm presence beside her. She was even happy to feel the almost imperceptible sway of the boat beneath and around them. However, she eventually realized that Duke was awake too and staring at her. Giving him a curious glance she invited him to explain why he was looking her like that.

He rolled over to balance himself on one elbow before softly asking, "What's it like?"

She gave him a blank look. "What's what like?"

To her frustration he shrugged at first, but then asked, "You still have her memories, don't you?"

There was no need for him to spell out who he meant. "Yes."

"So?"

Frowning a little, she said, "It's weird."

"Like two lifetimes worth of stuff happened to you?" he asked, not quite able to meet her eyes; clearly he found the prospect terrible.

''Actually no." Without quite realizing it she'd gotten a fistful of blanket and was kneading it between the fingers of her left hand.

"Then what?"

"You have any books you liked so much you read them over and over?"

"A couple."

"Audrey's memories feel like a book I've read a dozen times. I still remember every thing that happened, but it doesn't feel like it happened to me anymore."

''Ah," he said, looking thoughtful. "Can I ask you one more thing?"

"What?" she asked, suddenly feeling wary. That question was almost never followed up by the person asking something you wanted to discuss.

"I know you don't want to talk about your family and I respect that. Not wanting to discuss relatives is something I'm intimately familiar with-" Her impatience most have shown because he stopped rambling. "Will you tell me where you grew up, though?"

She didn't realize how tense the conversation was making her until she felt herself relax a little. "Oh. Boston."

"Seriously?" He looked incredulous.

"Yeah. why?"

Duke waved his hands. "It's just hard to reconcile that with you seeming to think New Englanders are aliens."

"I never thought of you as alien!" she protested.

"Right." His tone was decidedly skeptical.

Audrey shrugged. "I never thought of you as alien. Just in on a joke I was missing."

"So much better," he grumbled. "But still, it's kind of ironic."

"Like rain on your wedding day?" she couldn't help but quip.

She wished she hadn't when he distractedly corrected her by saying "it snowed actually" before going on. "It's kind of ironic that you though new Englanders are nuts when you fell from the same trees."

The metaphor was becoming so strained it made her head ache, but she knew what he was getting at. "Based on what Audrey remembered about growing up in Ohio you - we - are a little wacky."

"Fair enough," he conceded. "Of course Nathan's still going to think something is wrong with you."

"Wait. What?"

"You still talk a lot," he explained.

He had her there. "He'll get over it. Eventually."

"Maybe!'

She didn't like his doubtful tone, but he knew Nathan a lot longer so it was hard to argue.

"Come on," he said, swatting her lightly. "We've got to get up. I need to get to the Gull in-" He turned to his clock. "-twenty-five minutes."

"I thought you weren't working until tonight," she said, unable to keep some of her disappointment out of her voice. It might have been selfish to want him to spend the day with her, but she wasn't ready to face her apartment alone, and didn't have anything better to do with her day. She didn't even know if Jess was working that morning or she could have tried to visit with her.

"I'm not," he said a little too casually. "But I need to sign for some deliveries before you can have your way with me for the rest of the day."

"Well, I'm glad to know that I have that option."

His look lost some of its good humor and she could have almost sworn that he looked a little uncertain of himself. "Option? You are going to exercise that 'option' aren't you?"

At another time she might have teased him but they'd both been through the ringer lately... Putting her hand on his arm, she said, "Absolutely."

They were both smiling when they threw themselves into Duke's truck and headed over to meet the delivery guys.

* * *

><p>The Grey Gull<br>Late That Night

Leaning on the counter, Duke looked over to where Audrey sat nursing a mug of hot chocolate and reading the latest novel in a series about a psychic waitress and her vampire suitors. "Hey, Lady," Duke called making her look up. "This isn't a library. Why don't you take your book and get out of here?"

''Ha."

"No, really," Duke said. He'd just pulled out a register drawer so he could cash out. All his employees had left several minutes earlier, and he was about to lock all the doors but the front one. "You don't have to wait for me to close up. Go on upstairs where you can read in comfort."

"Who says I'm not comfortable?"

"Me," Duke insisted. "I put a lot of effort in to picking chairs just uncomfortable enough to discourage people from lingering over cups of coffee."

Audrey tapped her mug. "Good thing I'm drinking coco. Could use more marshmallows, though."

"I'd never begrudge you marshmallows, but I'm not sure any more would fit in your mug."

"Hey, they're small. I could probably cram a couple more in-"

A heavy knock at the door drew Duke's attention. "We're closed," he called, reminded of the night in August when he'd returned to Maine.

Before he could object, Duke saw the door swing open. "I know you're closed. That's why I came now," Dwight explained.

Duke waved towards the table Audrey was sitting at before coming around the bar to join them. He pulled up a chair and looked at Dwight." So what's the topic of this clandestine meeting you've apparently convened?"

"Lobster poaching."

Duke held up a hand. "It wasn't me, so maybe you should file a report down at the station."

"Sure," Audrey said with a nod. "But maybe it could wait until tomorrow." Duke shot her a look, wondering if she wanted to get rid of Dwight because she'd thought about that summer night too.

Dwight gave them a baleful look. "I was joking."

"Oh." Duke was reminded again why he would never play poker with the big man. "So..."

"So an hour ago Dave asked me when Julia Carr got back from Africa," Dwight said evenly.

"What? No." Audrey jumped out of her seat, clearly alarmed. "He saw her in Haven?"

"No. He ran into here in the mall in Derry."

"Dave was at the mall?" Duke blurted out, nonplused by the idea of the older man wandering around with mallrats, before Dwight's words really sank in. "Julia's not dead, then."

"Apparently," Dwight agreed. "I told you that the current took her too fast for me to be sure."

"'But she isn't in Haven?" Audrey asked, as if she found that important. "Right?"

Duke shook his head. "Derry is too damn close for comfort."

Dwight looked like he agreed with that sentiment. "So what do we do about it?"

"Kill them all and let God sort them out?" Duke suggested, wincing when they both gave him dirty looks. "What, do either of you have a better idea?"

Audrey's response was to pull out her phone. Before she could dial, Duke reached out and stilled her hand. "Who are you planning to call?"

''The station."

"Why?"

She pushed his hand away. "Nathan is vulnerable. I want someone stationed outside his room."

"And you'll explain your request how?" Duke asked, reasonably he thought. Audrey looked frustrated.

"Someone called in a death threat against him," Dwight supplied.

"You think they'll believe that?" Duke asked.

"They will if I call one in," Dwight said evenly.

"That..." Audrey sputtered. "It could work."

Dwight pushed his chair away from the table. "Where are you going?" Audrey asked.

"There's a payphone just down the street, probably one of the last ones in all of Maine. I don't want to call from here."

When she just nodded, Duke shot her a look. "You're going to let him do it?"

"I don't see what choice I have."

"Be right back," Dwight promised.

After the door rattled behind Dwight, Duke stared at Audrey. She just shrugged.

A few tense minutes later, Dwight let himself without knocking a second time. "It's done."

"I can't believe I'm the one to say I can't believe we really just let that happen," Duke muttered.

"Do you think they recognized your voice?" Audrey asked, clearly nervous about that.

"Oh, _now_ she is concerned."

"They didn't." Something about Dwight's tone said that he'd never willingly explain how he was so sure of that.

"Well," Audrey said with a false brightness. "Now that we know that no one will murder Nathan in his sleep, we can be clear-minded while figuring out what to do about Julia."

Turning to Dwight, Duke asked, "How are you set for crossbow bolts?"

"I've got quite a few."

"How quickly can you teach the two of us to shoot one and actually hit what we're aiming at?"

"It probably wouldn't take long to teach Audrey, but the chief said you can't hit the broad side of a barn."

"Guys?"

"What? It's not like we can use guns, Audrey. Not with Dwight's magnetic personality."

"Bullets aren't magnetic," Dwight objected sourly.

"Poetic license."

"So we plan to kill Julia then?" Audrey asked grimly.

''Uh, yeah." Duke couldn't believe that killing Julia was even a question. "It's not like she's just going to agree to return to northern Maine and leave the troubled alone. You have to know that."

"I do, but...To kill someone on purpose, that's not an easy thing to plan in good conscience."

"'First do no harm' is a doctor's creed, not a cop's, for a reason," Duke told her.

Audrey grimaced. "Cops who kill people on purpose go away for murder too, you know."

"Only sometimes," Dwight said.

"Great, as long as I don't get caught murder is dandy." Audrey threw her hands up in the air.

"Good, we're in agreement then," Dwight said, patently ignoring her outraged look.

_You didn't go away for it_, Duke thought but didn't say. Things were tense enough without picking a fight with his girlfriend. They were supposed to be past all of that, so rehashing that episode wasn't something even he was eager to do.

"We can't just hunt her down," Audrey protested. "Even if she's evil, she's still a human being. Gunning for someone just because we consider them evil would make us no better than them."

Duke swallowed a growl of frustration. He understood what Audrey was getting at, but the situation was far too grim to afford them the luxury of taking the high road on principal.

"She's right," Dwight rumbled, apparently instantly swayed by her logic. "We can't sink to their level."

Duke looked from one stony face to the other. He could tell that they both convinced that it was a hill worth dying on. There could be no reasoning with people that convinced that the righteous path was their only option. "And if she or her men confront us, offering violence on their own?" he asked quietly.

"Self-defense is a completely different thing," she told him. Dwight made a noise of agreement.

"Fine," Duke said shortly. He stood up. "We'll do it your way."

"Where are you going?" Audrey asked as he began to move away from the table.

"The doors won't lock themselves, and we're done here, right?" He didn't wait for them to agree that the conversation was over.

As he locked the patio doors he began plotting how he'd eliminate the threat Julia presented without their support. Just waiting for her to attack and hoping that being on defense went their way was foolish at best. He understood if they didn't have the stomach for attacking first, but that didn't mean he was so squeamish himself.

* * *

><p>In the distance Audrey heard Duke latching locks. Dwight spoke, voice pitched low. "He's worried that she'll try to hurt you again. Nathan says he's stupid when it comes to you. All evidence I've seen suggests that he's right."<p>

"I know," she agreed, understanding his warning. "I'm not going to give him the chance to go vigilante on us."

"Then you realize he was only saying what we wanted to hear."

Audrey felt like saying that she knew Duke well enough to have him in her bed, so of course she knew when he was just placating her. But she didn't. She wasn't close enough to Dwight to ask him if he'd left his wife after they lost their daughter or if she'd been the one to call it quits, so she wasn't going to offer details about her own relationship either.

After he pushed his chair back and stood, Dwight leaned down and said, "If he gives you any trouble, call me. I'll help you keep him in line."

Audrey didn't even want to think about how, though Duke hadn't complained about Dwight harming him, psychically anyway, while looking for her. Maybe she should have protested that Duke wasn't going to, but that didn't quite ring true for her, so she just said "Okay."

"Night, Duke," Dwight called on his way to the only door that still hadn't been locked.

"Later Sasquatch," came back, a little nearer than she would have predicted. Eventually she spotted him in an unlit corner of the dining area. He seemed to be adjusting one of the chairs that hadn't been put back properly.

The bell over the door chimed as Dwight let himself out. She waited a beat for Duke to emerge from the shadows, and left her seat when he didn't. Duke's expression was hard to read as she reached him. Putting her hand on his arm, she said, "I'm sorry that you are upset to be outvoted."

He made a noise at the back of his throat. "I'm upset that Julia is still alive. When Dwight told us that he'd seen her go down with a crossbow bolt in her, I let myself believe that this was over with. I should have known that she'd pop back up like Michael Myers."

Audrey's brow wrinkled in confusion. "The guy in the Austin Power movies?"

"Ha! No, the bad guy in the Friday the Thirteenth movies."

"Oh, that makes more sense," Audrey admitted. "While we're on the topic of Julia, can I ask you something?"

"What?" She watched in fascination as his eyes grew wary.

"Is it true that you dated her?"

"What? Yeah, for about ten minutes back in high school. It wasn't serious."

"How not serious?" Audrey asked pointedly.

"She was fifteen time. I didn't...didn't try anything," he said, actually blushing.

"A lot of seventeen-year-old guys would have."

"Not me."

"Because she was so young."

"Because she was so young and because I only asked her out after she practically threw herself at me. I just wasn't as interested in her that way as she was in me. Or pretended to be," he amended. "Knowing now that she'd been put up to it makes sense in a way."

"It does?"

"Yeah. We didn't have anything in common so I wondered what she saw me. Nothing, I guess. Just a means to an end."

"You don't sound like that bothers you."

"Like I said, I was never all that interested in her that way."

"Weren't you friends when you were little, though?" Audrey asked, thinking about Duke's story about their elementary school art show.

"I thought so at the time, but who knows how old we were when her uncle set her on me. Maybe even back then we were little kids. I don't know."

"I'm sorry."

"Why? I said it doesn't really bother me."

"I know." She thought about telling him that she was sorry because all of her childhood friends had been lost to time, but wasn't sure if she could find the right words to explain it. "But..."

"But what?" Duke asked, reaching past her to switch off the last light. She took that as a hint to open the door. When she did cold air rushed in, giving her goose bumps.

"It's just that she's so...broken. Maybe you knew her when she was still whole. Just makes me sad to think about it, that's all."

"Or she's always been a good actress," Duke objected. "It's not like you hated her on sight, or had any idea what she was capable of either until recently. Maybe she's always been that good at looking human."

If anything her goose bumps multiplied. Dwight was right. There was no way that she could trust Duke to keep his word when it came to not going after Julia himself. He'd probably want to, if only to keep her happy, but once you stop thinking of someone as possessing humanity, it makes hurting them so much easier to justify.

Giving Duke a small smile, she said, "I think tomorrow I'm going to take off one of those vacation days the union has been after me for letting pile up."

"Uh, okay."

Duke turned his head quickly as they exited the Gull, but not fast enough for her to miss the flicker of annoyance in his eyes. Taking his elbow, she led him to her stairs. "Maybe we can do something fun for breakfast, assuming we don't sleep too late."

He didn't protest the assumption that he'd be spending the night, but she could predict that if she hadn't spoken up just then, his very next words would be to the effect that he had something to do on his boat.

Watching him climb the stairs, she wondered if she'd be able to trust him to stay away from Derry the day after that, either. She hoped so because two personal days in a row when they were already down a cop wouldn't go over well.

* * *

><p><em>an: this chapter reminds me that I have an unfinished Sookie Stackhouse/X-Files crossover fic that could probably use some attention...It's kind of, sort of a follow up to Dirty Minds._


	40. Distractions

Early the next morning, before Duke was awake enough to defend himself, Audrey gave him a bright smile. "I've officially called in for a well-deserved mental health day. They actually said that I could take a couple because things are slow." She broke off in mid-sentence, frowning a little. "Because they're no longer investigating my kidnapping, so things are under control."

"They actually said that?" Duke found himself asking in disbelief.

"I quote 'things are under control so enjoy your day off.'"

He waved impatiently. "Not that part. They actually mentioned your abduction?"

Audrey shot him an uncertain look. "Yes..."

"Unbelievable," he muttered. "Who would have guessed that Nathan is one of the most tactful people on the Haven police force?"

"Wait."

"Present company excepted, of course."

It amused him that the conversation flustered her so much that she was silent for almost a full minute. After that brief reprieve she said, "So let's do something fun today."

"Like what?" He immediately began to feel wary, sensing that his poker face hadn't served him well enough the night before. Her next words made him sure of it.

She shrugged in an overly casual way saying, "I thought we could shop for Christmas decorations." When he just stared at her, she began to look defensive. "What?"

"You hate Christmas. Last year Nathan and I tried to get you to spend the holiday with either of us, and you blew us both off, holing up is your room instead. My offer even included sailing somewhere warmer where we didn't need to wear winter clothes, or any clothes which was implied though I wasn't sure you picked up on that."

"Believe me, I did."

"-but you chose to have a marathon of that vampire show you like instead."

"I know, but-" she started to protest.

On a roll, he cut her off. "And now you want to go shopping for Christmas decorations. For the love of Buddha, why?"

Duke expected a snappy reply, not downcast eyes. "I don't hate Christmas," she said quietly.

"But-"

Speaking a little louder, she said, "I don't hate Christmas. The other Audrey did. All those memories I told you guys about, those lonely Christmases at the children's home...Those were her sad memories, not mine."

Until then he'd actually been enjoying giving her a hard time, but he hadn't expected her statement. She had still said so little about her past, her real one, not the one that been picked up second hand for her, that it was easy to forget that what most of what she'd shared about her life from before showing up in town had been innocent lies. So it was a little disconcerting to hear her speak up about it then. "Oh."

"Oh?" she repeated, the slightest hint of challenge in her tone.

Duke shrugged. Someday they were both going to have to come clean about aspects of their pasts that they'd kept hidden so far, but not then. It wasn't a conversation he was eager to initiate, and she hardly seemed keen to herself. Reaching behind him, Duke plucked her coat off its hook and tossed it to her. "There's someone I want you to meet."

"Who?" she predictably demanded to know.

Instead of answering he gestured to indicate that his lips were sealed before pulling on his own coat and pointing at the door.

She stared at him a moment, sighed "great, now I'm dating a mime," and followed him out the door.

* * *

><p>They were halfway down the stairs, when Duke, one step ahead of her, held out an arm to stop her.<p>

"There's someone in the Gull," he said, voice pitched low. It was only then that she noticed a dim light coming through the window. None of Duke's employees was due to arrive for another twenty minutes, and if one had come in early for some reason, he or she would've parked in an obvious spot. Their cars were the only ones in the lot.

Nodding, she pulled out her gun, glad now that she was spooked into being armed even on her days off. She was sure that Duke was armed too, despite not drawing a weapon. Thinking of what Dwight had said about his legendarily bad aim made her decide on the spot that she should get him into the firing range to work on that.

'Julia'? she mouthed. He shrugged, then after a second nodded.

It was idiotic to be that bold, but none of the people who followed the Driscolls were renowned for their smarts.

Duke pointed, making her understand that he thought they should use the delivery door. That made sense to her, so she followed closely without remark. As they moved cautiously through the building, her heart caught in her throat when she spied a high heel clad foot dangling from a crossed leg. She raised her gun, and was surprised when Duke knocked her hand back. She was so sure that it would be Julia Carr that she was deeply confused when her eyes followed the foot up and discovered an unfamiliar blonde was attached to the impractical footwear.

"Katie!" Duke exclaimed next to her, sounding pissed. "You have no idea how narrowly you just avoided being shot at."

The blonde smirked at them. "You weren't joking about her being armed. That's cute."

"You couldn't have worst timing," Duke muttered.

It was only then that Audrey realized that he'd been expecting the other woman to come see him. And that there was a wooden box on the table that Katie had taken possession of.

"Duke, I told you I'd be in Haven soon several days ago. And considering she looks like she's in one piece, I'd say that the information I gave you served you well. Now it's time to keep up your end of our bargain."

Looking stymied, he just sighed.

"The license plate?" Audrey asked, piecing it together. He told her that one of his contacts had given him the plate number that had led him and Dwight to northern Maine. She'd been expecting a grizzled biker chick, not a woman who could have filled the role of one of Carrie's well-dressed friends on Sex and the City.

Katie was clearly a woman who spent a lot of time and money to make the most of her looks and it paid off in an icily beautiful way. She probably wasn't used to men looking at her with Duke's open distaste. Even knowing that Duke wasn't buying what Katie was selling only made Audrey feels slightly less inadequate comparison. Katie was like the mean girls from middle school all grown up and sophisticated.

"What's her name, Duke?" Katie asked.

"Audrey."

"That's interesting." Turning to Audrey she asked, "Are you a dirty cop, Audrey? If not you might want to scoot."

Being dismissed that way got Audrey's hackles up. "I'm fine here, thank you," she said evenly, ignoring Duke's worried look. Whatever was in that box would have to be pretty damning for her to prevent Duke from clearing his debt to the other blonde. She owed them both that much.

Katie looked delighted. "I should've known, Duke. Now tell me, did you corrupt her yourself, or did she come that way already? Either way, having a cop in your pocket must be handy."

Rather than acting provoked, he merely looked bored. "We were on our way out, so can we get this over with..."

Audrey expected Katie take that as an invitation to toy with him, but she briskly turned the box and began to pry it open. Once the lid was off, and some of the shredded paper the object was nestled in was removed, an exquisite Faberge egg was revealed.

"Why me?" Duke asked, looking puzzled.

Audrey wondered why he was confused. She knew art had passed through his hands before - that was what had made him a suspect in the whole regrettable scrimshaw debacle.

"This little beauty needs to go to its new home in Canada."

Duke held up his hands in protest. "Sorry Katie, the Celeste is dry docked at the moment. It got banged up pretty badly."

"Oh, please," she said, lips turned down in distaste. "As if I'd trust you to get it there in one piece and negotiate a good price for me."

"Then what do you want?"

Her eyes gleamed with a strange light. "What I want from you is so much simpler than asking you to play errand boy. All I want is an address for someone I know who can get me what I want."

"Whose?"

"Nicky Todd's. Don't tell me that you haven't kept tabs on him."

"Sure, he's on my Christmas newsletter list," Duke said, glowering at her.

Eying him, Audrey asked, "One of those friends you didn't go to Boston with in your early twenties?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"I suppose not," she admitted. Katie looked intrigued, but didn't demand to know what they'd been talking about.

Duke went to the bar for a pen and a pad of paper. Watching him write reminded her uncomfortably of his father's journal, and his remark that Simon's handwriting was very similar to his own. She didn't like thinking that he was at all like his father.

Duke ripped the page out, folded it, and began to hold it out to Katie before drawing his hand back. "And if Nicky tells you to take a hike?"

"He won't," Katie promised with a smile that said plainly how she intended to manipulate the other man.

"Humor me," Duke said flatly. "Somehow things don't go as planned when you see Nicky, or he screws things up later. Where do _we_ stand then?"

Katie leaned over to pluck the paper from his hand, and after a second of resistance he didn't fight her. "We're even," she said, sounding unusually sincere. She flipped the paper open, and her eyes scanned. "Debt's paid off, as of this moment."

"Good," Duke said gruffly.

Audrey felt like she ought to thank the other woman for being the catalyst that led to her rescue, so she took a step towards her when Katie got out of her chair. Katie would have been a few inches taller even without the heels.

The other woman's eyes ran up and down Audrey. "Really, I don't understand the fuss."

"Goodbye, Katie," Duke said firmly.

Katie shot them a feral smile before swaying across the floor and out the door.

Duke looked at Audrey, and she expected him to say something soothing to take the sting out of Katie's put down. Instead he said, "Before you ask, I never dated _her_."

Audrey laughed, and he gave her a suspicious look. "What?"

"I have a feeling she destroys the men she's tired of, so I didn't suspect you had."

"She's quite the ball buster, that Katie," he agreed. "Nicky won't thank me for setting her on him, but I spent a Memorial Day weekend in jail because a him, so screw him."

"I'm pretty sure that's on her agenda," Audrey said, grinning.

"Me too. Now, let's get out of here."

* * *

><p>The run-in with Katie left Duke feeling more flustered than he was willing to show: in the back of his mind he'd been hoping that she'd get arrested for something before she made it to Haven, especially since Nathan couldn't bust her for anything this time, not as sick as he was. As Duke drove Audrey to their destination in Castle Rock, he tried to figure out if Nathan had arrested Katie three or four times over the years. Either way, he mused, if Jess ever wanted to role play being a very naughty girl, Nathan definitely knew how to snap handcuffs onto a woman's wrists. Maybe he'd stop by one of the many adult "bookstores" on the border and pick up some fuzzy ones as a get well present. Audrey would probably keep Nathan from killing him if he did...<p>

Thinking the word killing had him giving his girlfriend covert glance; she was watching the grayish scenery pass in didn't seem to notice his contemplation. Before she'd known who was in the Gull she'd raised her gun to aim it. And it had been clear from her confused expression when he knocked the gun away that she had expected it to be Julia who'd broken in. What had her action meant?

He wished that it meant that she'd reconsidered her foolish desire to remain on the defense, but she hadn't taken the safety off. So she probably had been hoping to intimidate Julia rather than fire upon her. Duke wished he could ask her what she'd been planning to do if it had been Julia sitting there, but he expected her answer to either be a rationalization or a more honest 'I don't know'.

Eventually the silence in the car must've gone on too long because Audrey tore her gaze away from the dead trees lining the highway. "What are you thinking about?"

Duke shrugged. "A get well present for Nathan."

"Oh," she said, suddenly sounding worried. "Maybe I should to-"

He cut her off with a snort. "Audrey, you're willing to split your liver with the guy. I don't think he expects flowers or the latest Grisham novel on top of that."

"We don't know if I'd be a good match it," Audrey pointed out.

"Okay, if you're not a match the fuzzy handcuffs can be from both of us."

"Fuzzy handcuffs?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"He could use a hint," Duke insisted. "For Jess's sake." To his surprise she began to laugh. "Now what?"

"You don't know, do you? I never told you and I'm sure he didn't..."

"Explain before I jump to bad conclusions here."

"Remember you said Nathan 'finally' slept with Jess? It would have happened last year if that weird-ass shadow hadn't tried to kill me and the Teagues."

Duke's brow furrowed as he tried to sort that out. "The shadow told him not to sleep with her?"

She swatted him, and this time he didn't think he deserved it. But then she looked guilty as she realized he wasn't joking. "No, I called for help, interrupting them."

"How do you know?"

"Mussed up hair. Lipstick on his collar. And his shirt was untucked and unbuttoned."

"Wow, that does suggest... But are you sure he wasn't rescuing kittens from a tree or something, though?" He remembered lipstick. "Then was kissed by the grateful owner?"

"And he once had the nerve to chide me about 'how soon' I got involved with you," Audrey explained, and Duke initially wondered if the "how soon" referred to the timing after Evi's death rather than how long they had known each other, but she went on. "When I retorted that he had only known Jess like a millionth as long before almost spending the night with her he blushed so hard I worried that he'd spontaneously combust."

That revelation shut Duke up momentarily again. What was different about Jess that had made Nathan so less cautious pursuing her than Audrey? Maybe Jess had been the aggressor, Duke decided, making Nathan feel safer about being aggressive. That didn't seem quite right, but he wasn't about to complain considering how everything shook out. Nathan's sloth had definitely been his gain.

He slowed the car because they were there, or so the sign that he'd just passed declared.

"We here?" Audrey asked, sounding uncertain as he pulled into a driveway.

It was a house rather than a commercial building, so he understood her confusion. "We're here."

Rather than go up to the house and knock, Duke led her down a brief path to a large detached garage with two oversized bay doors.

"Do they fix boats?"

"Boats?" he asked blankly before realizing that she didn't know they were there about Christmas decorations. Trying to see it from that point of view, it sort of did look like the kind of place he'd bring his injured boat. "Uh, no. Someone in Haven has the Celeste."

"Then I'm confused," she admitted.

"We'll fix that," Duke promised.

The normal door next to one of the bays opened, and a muscular guy with salt-and-pepper hair to his shoulders stuck his head out. "Come in before you freeze," he commanded.

"Thanks," Duke said, nudging his girlfriend forward. They stepped inside.

* * *

><p>Audrey had been expecting a couple of gutted cars and a plethora of auto parts waiting to be installed, but that's not what was inside at all. Her eyes widened in appreciation as they took in the workshop before them.<p>

A rack of blowtorches lined a wall, but that's where the interior ceased looking like a place where someone might have made repairs. Instead the building was an interesting juxtaposition of what was clearly two different people's concepts of Christmas. Unless, she thought, this guy has two different personalities. One of them would probably be a habitual raider of his mother's closet were that the case, though.

Regardless of how many hands did the work, Audrey had to admit it was all beautiful. Half of the decorations in the spacious room were wrought iron, delicately twisted spires that shouldn't have been able to evoke Christmas imagery given their hard, cold source material, yet they undeniably did. And the rest of the pieces had a more homey feel to them, more country Christmas than germs and steel, but it was clear upon close examination that each one was constructed out of "reclaimed" materials. Here she could see ad copy in the center of a delicate blue star, and there a fragment of a familiar logo in Santa's sleigh.

"You look impressed," Duke said in a stage whisper.

"Yup."

She only noticed that the man who'd let them in was still there when Duke asked, "Charlie, where's your mom?"

"Caging 'the good stuff' from the guy at the recycling center," the man said with a rueful shake of his head. "She comes home with a carload without fail. I think poor Dale is sweet on her."

''Ha. Sounds like."

"Speaking of being sweet on someone, who is this poor girl you conned into putting up with the likes of you?" Charlie asked, instantly winning Audrey over with that remark.

"Hey, don't judge a book by its cover. Audrey here holds her own."

"Does she now?" The artist looked impressed. "Now I really wish Ma was here. She'd love to meet a woman who could make Duke say something like that."

"How do you know each other?"

"Charlie here was my high school art teacher."

"Uh," She looked from one man to the other. "Really?"

''It was my first year out of college, me with a shiny new teaching certificate," Charlie explained. "And boy was I glad Duke was in that class."

Intrigued, Audrey asked "why?" a little quicker than was probably polite to Duke.

"The chief's boy had quite the reputation for being a cut up, but Duke was always able to rein him in with a little peer pressure."

She blinked. "The chief's...Chief Wournos?" she asked, almost choking when Charlie agreed.

''Yep. Nathan Wournos. Class clown extraordinaire of Haven High."

She was shocked into silence. Duke gave her a small smile. "I told you he's different when he's not troubled."

Charlie looked chagrined. "I was sorry when I heard that his affection had come back. He's long since straightened up, so that seemed kind of cruel."

"Well, he's better now," Duke said before turning to her and changing the subject. ''See anything you like?"

She picked out a few pieces, but was quiet as she dwelled on what he'd said to his former teacher. Once they'd paid and left the garage, her question came bubbling out. "By better you mean Nathan can feel both Jess and me now?"

He avoided her eyes. "It's not really my place to say this..."

''Hey."

Duke sighed and gave in. "He should be the one telling you this, but since you're as impatient as anyone I've ever met-" Duke paused, ducking out of her reach. "When he, uh, got shot I found out that he's been keeping a secret from everyone: he's been able to feel since that...when I punched him after Evi died." Duke looked abashed. "I guess when my father demanded to know if I'd 'cured' anyone yet, I was wrong when I said no."

Audrey tried to make sense of Nathan's actions, but couldn't. "Why didn't he tell anyone? You'd of thought that sort of good news would get shouted from the rooftops."

Duke merely shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe it has to do with wanting Jess to feel special too. Or not wanting the troubled's feelings about him to change now that he is not one of them anymore."

"He's not troubled any more," she repeated, the full weight of it finally hitting her. "Wow."

Duke sighed. "He's still in trouble, though."

That was a depressingly sobering thought.

* * *

><p>On the two hour drive back from Castle Rock, Duke considered the fact that Audrey had gotten her wish: he hadn't seen hide nor hair of Julia Carr all day, and that made it damned hard to do anything to stop her.<p>

His mind kept circling back to the fact that Dave had seen her in Derry. Should he ditch Audrey on some pretense and head to Derry to see if she'd taken a room at one of the local hotels? Would anyone who worked at any of the establishments even be willing to tell him if she had?

A cold feeling overtook him when he decided it was highly unlikely that Julia had stayed in Derry like a good little miscreant. If he'd been Julia, he'd be in Haven already. The thought of being like her made him feel more than a little uncomfortable. But, as Audrey pointed out, they'd known each other as kids, and it wasn't beyond conceivability that he could still guess what she was going to do like he had when they'd played hide and go seek decades earlier.

She'd always lost to him. Then.

But she'd changed. No matter how coolly he'd played it off while talking to Audrey about her, he didn't really want to believe that the child he'd played with so long ago had been the same wrong-minded person she now was. He himself had changed, so why couldn't she have?

Glancing over at Audrey, who was toying with one of the decorations she'd bought, he considered that he'd like to believe his changes had been for the better. And Julia's? No one could say she was a better person now.

"Hey, where are we going?" Duke asked, breaking the silence and shoving thoughts of Julia away for the moment. Audrey looked at him. "Do you want to sleep in my bed tonight, or your own?"

She looked torn for a moment, and then like she was steeling herself for something. "I want to sleep in mine."

Until she said it, he hadn't considered how strange it must be for her to return to what was quite literally the scene of the crime. If someone had done something like that to him, he'd be damn uneasy too. If they hadn't had Dwight's warning to distract them the night before, he sensed that she probably would have wanted to go to his boat instead. "Are you sure? I mean, if you're not ready to go back home, I could grab some of your stuff-"

"And rely on your fashion sense to dress me?" She gave him a look that was supposed to convey skepticism. "Please."

"I'm not joking."

Her look softened. "I know you're not. And thank you. But you'll stay again too?" she added, giving him a hopeful look.

_What would she of done last night if we hadn't been so tired we fell asleep immediately?_ he wondered. An uncomfortable mental picture of her curling up in a chair with her gun floated through his mind. "Of course. I'll even check under your bed and in your closet for monsters before we go to bed."

"I'm going to hold you to that."

"I know you will."

There would be time enough to worry about Julia later, he decided. After he helped Audrey banish the specters of her attack from the apartment so she could feel safe at home again. He'd never been someone's security blanket before, and he found that he didn't really mind it.

* * *

><p>Hours Later<p>

One of the many talents Duke had acquired over the years was to make himself wake up at a desired time without needing to use an alarm clock. It had helped him get out of narrow scrapes over the years, and it now helped him wake up in the middle of the night without bothering Audrey.

Moonlight was streaming through the window making Duke aware that, though they hadn't noticed the night before, someone who'd been in Audrey's apartment during her absence had done something to the blinds without bothering to right them before they left. He got out of bed as quietly as he could and padded to the window. At first he reached out a hand to the blinds, but paused, looking back at Audrey. The light made her hair look silver, and one fist was curled against hers chin. She looked so vulnerable as she slept his heart ached.

If he tried to explain what he was about to do, she wouldn't understand. But in his heart he knew he was mostly doing it for her. True, ridding the world of Julia Carr would make Haven a safer place for many people. But he was more concerned with giving her a lot less to worry about. Maybe when the troubles ended this time they wouldn't come back.

And if that happened, maybe she'd be free, in a way that neither her mother nor grandmother had been. Free from worry, free from changing in terrifying ways. Whole, and sane, and able to have the real sort of life that had been denied to the women who'd come before her. Every part of him screamed that eliminating Julia was part of ending the troubles once and for all.

Duke leaned down and kissed Audrey's cheek before he let himself out. _Sorry_.

His truck seemed to roar to life as he started it, and he cringed, more than halfway expecting to see Audrey running out to demand that he tell her where he was off to in the middle of the night. But when he cautiously looked up, her door was still shut, and no lights were on.

He felt like he was getting away with something as prepared to drive off, but it didn't take long before he was struck by a strong sense of futility. Agitation that demanded that he do something had gotten him as far as the parking lot, but it hadn't made any suggestions about what he was supposed to do next, drive up and down the streets of Haven, hoping to catch Julia creeping around? What were the odds that he'd have anything to show for it by sunrise?

Sighing, he turned off the Land Rover and pulled the keys out of the ignition. No one had lit up the night sky with a bat signal, so he wouldn't really accomplish anything that night by playing vigilante without a cause.

Audrey didn't stir when he fixed the blinds, or when he climbed back into bed. Duke was still determined to make sure Julia was stopped, but he now realized that he'd have to think and then act instead of the other way around if he was going to accomplish anything useful.

* * *

><p><em>an: can you feel it? something **big** is coming..._


	41. Unexpected Results

_a/n: If we only hear from 2 or 3 of you after __**this**__ chapter, we won't be pleased. Worried about the chapter's reception, maybe, but definitely not pleased._

* * *

><p>The Following Day<p>

Audrey took the department up on a second day off, now slightly chagrined that they'd brought up her kidnapping. Duke was right, that hadn't been tactful. Fortunately he'd gone off to pick up some things at a restaurant supply store in Old Town before she'd made the call into the station, so she hadn't had to keep the phone from him so he could tell Stan off.

Later on, when her phone rang, she hoped that it would be someone she knew because she was verging on boredom, but the number was unfamiliar. Hoping it wasn't a political pollster or someone asking her if she wanted a newspaper subscription, she cautiously answered, "Hello?"

"Is this Audrey Parker?" a voice asked politely.

"Yes?" The woman was too polite for Audrey's liking. It probably was someone trying to get her to donate to their pet political causes, she thought, growing annoyed immediately.

"I'm calling on behalf of Doctor Stark. He'd like you to come by his office to discuss the results of the DNA test you took."

It surprised her a little that the results had come in so quickly. Although she knew that it no longer took forever and a day to get DNA results, Dr. Stark had hardly seemed eager to have the test done in the first place. "Am I a good match for Nathan?" Audrey asked eagerly.

That had to be it, she decided. Why else would they want to talk to her about it in his office? If the news was no, that could be given over the phone. Maybe there was some sort of prep that could be done right then and there, like recording her vital stats and taking her medical history, which she could now give accurately.

To her surprise, the woman on the other end of the line became cagey. "I'm sorry, I can't discuss that over the phone."

For a moment Audrey toyed with the idea of begging her to do it, but she didn't want to put the woman's job at risk, so she said, "Okay, when should I come in?"

"He's free at one, if you are," she offered.

"Sure."

"Thank you. See you then."

As soon as she hung up, Audrey picked the phone back up again and dialed Duke. Apparently still in business mode despite being away from it, he'd only gotten half way through his standard greeting for the restaurant before she interrupted him. If had been a customer, would he have called the Gull to pass the message along? "No need to make a good impression on the caller, Duke. It's just me."

"You're not 'just' anything," Duke told her.

"Thanks. I think," she replied with a wry smile.

"What's up?"

"I got a call from Nathan's doctor's office. They want me to go in and discuss the DNA test results."

"So you're a match."

"That's what I assumed too, but the receptionist, or administrative assistant, or whatever they call her got all weird about it and wouldn't tell me anything one way or the other."

"Um..." To her surprise Duke sounded worried. "They can't tell someone's pregnant from a DNA test or anything, can they?"

"No. Jesus, Duke, I think I'd know if I was pregnant anyway!" As much as she loved him a baby wasn't something she had room for in her life right then, so she was religious about taking her birth control in the prescribed manner.

"Oh, okay." He didn't sound less worried, though. "But I know for sure that they can tell if you have certain diseases..."

Shaking her head, Audrey began to wish that she hadn't called him. Until he mentioned it, she hadn't thought that maybe they'd found something wrong with her. "I'm hoping it's just a privacy policy issue. You know, 'we can't discuss any health issues over the phone.'"

"That's probably it," Duke said too quickly. "But do you want me to go with you anyway? I'll be back in about half an hour."

Audrey thought about it for a moment. _What if I have cancer or something?_ she thought with a shiver. "Yes..."

* * *

><p>Stark's Office<p>

Doctor Stark looked less than pleased to see Duke with his arm around Audrey's waist when he finally entered the exam room the receptionist had stuck them in. "I'm not sure it's wise to have him here when we discuss the findings of the DNA test-"

"Why not?" Audrey demanded to know. Any hope that nothing was wrong had dissolved as soon as the doctor opened his mouth. There was no way he'd be in a snit if he was simply going to tell her that she and Nathan weren't a match. _What's wrong with me?_ she wondered in despair.

"This is a sensitive issue-"

Duke interrupted him. "Saying whether or not she's a good match for her best friend is a sensitive issue?"

Eyes flashing, the good doctor shook his head. "We have more to discuss than that."

"All the more reason to have someone here with me when we discuss it," Audrey said evenly. Inside she was a mess, and seriously wondered if she'd cry if Stark insisted that Duke leave the room. No part of her wanted to be alone when she got bad news.

"All right. If you insist on waiving your right to medical privacy..."

"I do."

Duke responded to that by tightening his hold on her. It made her feel somewhat better. But only somewhat.

Stark, still looking aggrieved, turned his face so he was only looking at her. She thought it was childish, but let it go without comment. "You are a very good match for Nathan Wournos. If, and I stress if because I still think he has a fair chance of improving, he needs a liver transplant, you would be his best hope of a full recovery."

"That's it?" Duke gripped. "You scared the hell out of her for that? Both of us, actually. You had us thinking that there was something serious you needed to tell her."

"There is," Stark said gravely. Audrey felt her heart skip a beat. For a second she had allowed herself to come to the same conclusion as Duke - Stark's demeanor had been pointless puffery over what was ultimately good news for Nathan.

"What?" Audrey whispered. All she wanted to do was bury her face against Duke's neck and make the bad man staring at her go away. Being an adult was so hard sometimes.

"Ms. Parker..." Doctor Stark sighed. "There's a specific reason why you're such a good match for Nathan. You share have a lot of DNA in common."

Audrey was still trying to parse out what he meant by that when Duke exclaimed, "No way!"

"What?" she asked, feeling frustratingly clueless.

"How closely are they related?" Duke demanded to know.

"Related?" _Nathan and I are related?_ she thought blankly. _That can't be right_. She glanced at the doctor's stiff expression. _Can it? _"Nathan's my..."

"Half-sibling," Stark supplied. "You share a parent."

"Wait, wait, I knew Nathan's mother," Duke protested. "Nathan looks a lot like her. There's no way that she's not his biological mother, and we already know who your mother is," Duke told her. "So the test has to be wrong."

"Max," Audrey said quietly.

"Max Hansen?" Duke asked, obviously surprised. "That can't be-"

"Why not?" Audrey demanded to know. "He was from Haven, Duke. He was-" She glanced at the doctor and noticed that he was listening intently. "-a trouble maker. My mother tried to help people like that."

"But." For once Duke shut his mouth when nothing to say came out of it.

Stark looked relieved that they hadn't demanded to know who he thought the shared parent of Audrey and Nathan was, and had figured it out on their own. "I'm sure this comes as something of a shock."

"You have no idea," Audrey muttered. _Thank God I only kissed him_, she found herself thinking.

"Right," Stark said uncomfortably. "I'll leave discussing this, this topic with Mr. Wournos to you."

She looked up at him, not sure if she should feel grateful that he wouldn't spring the news on Nathan himself, or unhappy that the task was being laid at her feet instead. Eventually she was able to muster up a faint "Thanks" before the doctor excused himself.

* * *

><p>Later<p>

While Duke stood at the island, deftly chopping vegetables for a stir fry, Audrey sat on a stool nearby watching him. Although he gave her the occasional glance to indicate a willingness to listen should she choose to speak, she said nothing, brooding silently until he was nearly through with dinner prep.

"If I'm Max Hansen's daughter, how come I can feel stuff?" she asked at last, slipping off the stool to get a glass. "Nathan couldn't feel anything both times the troubles happened during his life. You have the same trouble as Simon. Everyone loves Chris. And those wendigo girls..." She broke off with a shudder. "Troubles are genetic," she concluded firmly.

"Nuh uh," he disagreed, waving his knife.

Audrey shot him a disbelieving look. "So what, it's coincidental that you can take troubles away just like your father did?" She clearly didn't enjoy bringing his father or his trouble up, but it must have seemed necessary just then.

"That's not what I'm saying, Audrey."

"Then I clearly don't know what you're saying." She sounded peevish.

"Do you remember what made you think that you were Lucy?"

"I told you that I got all of my memories back," she said stiffly.

"I'm not saying you didn't. I'm just reminding you about that family."

"What about them? The boy was troubled, just like his father."

"And the girl?" Duke asked mildly.

Audrey just stared at him.

He put his knife down with a sigh. "That girl isn't troubled, but her brother is. Chris is troubled just like his father was. Me, like my father. That Glendower boy like his. And Nathan like yours."

"What are you getting at?" she demanded to know.

Duke shrugged. "How about those wendigo kids. We don't know which of those girls' parents were troubled, but I'm going to guess it was their mom."

She looked up at him. "You think troubles are sex-linked?"

"I think it's a good possibility." He almost pointed out her similarity to Lucy, but decided against it. Mentioning Lucy presented too many possible ways to divert the conversation to less fruitful digressions.

"But I don't want Nathan to be my brother!" Audrey wailed plaintively.

Duke raised his eyebrows. "You and Nathan didn't do anything...regretful, did you?"

Audrey made a face at him. "Eww. You know I never felt anything for him like that, so of course not."

"Didn't think so," he said, proud of himself when he didn't sound relieved.

"But I did kiss him, though," Audrey said bleakly. "On the cheek. I think that's how he realized that he could feel my touch."

He snorted. "While I don't have firsthand knowledge because I don't have a sister-" _That I know of_, he thought, but didn't say when his father's philandering ways occurred to him. "-I think lots of sisters kiss their brothers on the cheek. It's allowed."

She looked at him like she was going to say something else but didn't. Sighing again, he held his arms out to her. Within seconds she was pressed against his chest, and he loosely wrapped his arms around her. "It's going to be okay."

He felt her nod reluctantly, but then she pulled away to look up at him. "I'll be okay. But will Nathan?"

Duke gave her a reassuring squeeze, but he knew that she wasn't just talking about Nathan's health.

* * *

><p>The Next Morning<p>

When Audrey finally dragged herself out of Duke's bed Saturday morning, her nose informed her that she'd find her lover in the kitchen, so it came as little surprise when she caught him spraying whipped cream on a stack of steaming waffles, her own stack sat at her customary spot. "Strawberries?" he asked, pushing a blue bowl of chopped and lightly sugared fruit towards her.

Audrey took a moment to think of the vow she made as she squirmed out a window recently, then rationalized that the treat Duke was offering wasn't cupcakes so she didn't have to feel guilty. After spooning the ruby-hued fruit on to her waffles and allowing Duke to douse hers in cream too, she looked up at him.

"So, why waffles? There are a lot of breakfast foods, so you loyalty is noteworthy. I've always wondered."

Duke raised an eyebrow. "You've always wondered why I'm not some cheap breakfast food floozy, taking up with one breakfast food after another?"

She had to bite her cheek to resist laughing. Eventually she managed a "yup" without giggling.

He shrugged exaggeratedly. "I like the geometry."

"Geometry?"

"They're big squares with little squares in them. That's kind of deep."

Her will finally broke, and she began to giggle. Duke paused in the middle of cutting one of his, his expression asking her if she was quite through. "You don't mean that you think of them as a mystery wrapped in an enigma, do you?" she asked when she caught her breath.

"No. That's crepes," he said solemnly, setting her off again.

After her laughter subsided, she dug into her breakfast and thoroughly enjoyed it. So much so that she felt broad-sided when Duke asked "Are you going to tell him today?"

"No." The word came out more forcefully than she intended, but she decided not to explain herself.

Duke sighed and let his fork drop to his plate with a clatter. "I really didn't want to be the one who told you that he deserves to know."

Audrey waved that away, literally." Did I say that he doesn't? No. I just want to be sure before I tell him. What if the test is wrong?"

A strange look crossed his face, but he held his tongue. At first. ''How would you know for sure, if a DNA test isn't proof enough?"

"I want to do another DNA test."

"You don't think shoving a few cotton swabs in his mouth will make him suspicious?"

To her irritation, she felt her cheeks flame. "I'm going to be sneakier than that, obviously."

Duke's look was skeptical. "So you're planning a breaking and entering to avoid having to talk to him about it?"

"It's not breaking in if the home owner gave you a key," she retorted.

"I'm sure you using it to steal his hairbrush his exactly what he had in mind when he gave it to you," Duke instantly shot back.

"Not his hair brush," Audrey muttered. They'd begun putting things away as they spoke, so she was mostly talking to the dishes she was rinsing in the sink. "His toothbrush. There's a better concentration of DNA on that than a hair brush."

"Because you'd need the root of the hair. I know."

"Then why-"

"Audrey, really? You want to argue semantics now?"

"No." Turning back around she gave him a winsome smile. "Come with me?"

His only response was to shut the fridge with more force than necessary before wandering off damning women under his breath.

Alone in the kitchen, Audrey smiled. He hadn't said no, and she knew him well enough to know that was as good as a yes.

* * *

><p>A thick heavy snow began to fall as Duke drove them to Nathan's house. The day was the sullen sort of overcast that made it difficult for people to trust their clocks. They hadn't gotten half a mile before the Land Rover's wipers had to be switched to high to keep windshield clear.<p>

Duke pointed out at it. "It would've been nice if we'd had this while running from Julia and her goons. Now, not so much."

"It's kind of pretty."

"Don't forget cold and wet," he replied sourly.

"You seemed to like it okay the day of the snowball fight," she said quietly.

"Yeah, but..." He started to say before the fact that there was something wrong with her tone began to bother him. When he cut his eyes towards her, she looked a lot grimmer than a disparaging remark about the weather could account for. "Audrey? You okay?" When she didn't say anything after a beat he repeated her name.

"Not really," she admitted. "I've been thinking about the snowball fight, and how I talk to Nathan about a rematch while we left for work. What if we never get to have one?"

"He's going to be okay," Duke said firmly. "One way or the other we're going to get him better. He can't get away from us that easily."

"I know he's going to get better. I couldn't be a better match for him short of being his identical twin-"

She swatted him when he made a disgusted noise. "Sorry, but the thought of dating his identical twin...Sorry," he concluded when he belatedly realized she wasn't remotely in a joking mood.

"He's going to get better, I know that." Her eyes were watery when she turned her head to look at him. "But what if I lose him anyway?"

For once words failed him. It was on the tip of his tongue to reply "you'd still have me" but he was afraid she would say that wasn't enough. It was okay if it was true, he just didn't want to hear her say it.

The remainder of the drive was very quiet.

* * *

><p>Daylight was putting up even less of a fight to break through the clouds by the time they reach Nathan's, so the whole house was swathed in shadows as they parked. Audrey shivered a little as she hopped out of Duke's truck - if there had ever been a day that a lightless house looked gloomier before dark, she didn't know when.<p>

"Looks abandoned, doesn't it?" Duke asked as if reading her mind. He stomped snow off his boots when they reached the side door that Nathan customarily used and held out his hands for the keys. This didn't annoy her because she was shivering so hard that she nearly dropped them before his fingers closed over them.

Inside it was warmer than she expected, and snow began to melt out of their hair before Duke even managed to locate a light switch. Without quite being aware of it, she had held her breath while waiting to see if it would work. Then she thought it was silly because it wasn't as if the house was actually abandoned.

"I'll be right back," Audrey muttered, leaving Duke standing in the kitchen staring after her.

She'd only been inside Nathan's house a couple of times and it took her longer to locate his bathroom than she thought it would. Eventually she found it and spotted a red toothbrush in a cup on the vanity. As she sealed the toothbrush into a Ziploc bag, she felt a little guilty for being glad that Nathan and Jess had taken so long to reach the sleepover stage of their relationship - his and hers toothbrushes would've definitely complicated things. She paused long enough to drop a stray towel puddled on the floor next to the tub into a hamper, thinking that it must've been left on the shower curtain rod to dry before falling off.

When she returned to the kitchen, she discovered Duke with his head in the refrigerator, a kitchen-sized trash bag in his hand. It was half full.

"What are you doing?"

Pulling his head out of the fridge, Duke looked at her over his shoulder. "My best Grinch impression. What you think?"

She almost chided him not to joke about Christmas after what had happened in July, but then it occurred to her that she was still the only one who remembered that. He hadn't regained the memories of the time loop day, either, so she was still the only one with any recall of either event. "If Nathan was a Who, he'd be devastated," she deadpanned. "Seriously, what are you doing?"

Duke rattled the bag. "Cleaning out the expired food so this place doesn't get condemned before Nathan comes home."

"Aww, Duke," she cooed.

He looked surprised. "What?"

"That's really sweet of you."

"I know," he said without any false modesty.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "So this is some sort of ploy to play on my emotions?"

"Depends, is it working?" He grinned when she stuck her tongue out at him. "I don't know, Audrey, Nate would probably get mad if he knew we'd made out in his house so let's wait -oof." His words cut off abruptly when she gave him a bear hug.

Looking up at him, she said, "I'm on to you."

"You are?"

"I am. You're worried about him too."

"Of course I am," he said, sounding a little indignant. "Because you are."

"Un huh."

"No really," Duke insisted.

"Right..." she drawled. "How would he know if we made out in his house, anyway? I wouldn't tell him, would you?"

"Nope..." His please look dissolved into alarm when she stepped away from him and pulled out her gun. "Did I just fail some sort of test?" he asked, looking bewildered.

"Someone has been here," she said tersely.

"Maybe Jess?" Duke's words dried up when his eyes followed where her finger was pointing. A fine but unevenly layer dust had settled upon objects on Nathan's table. Several of the items had clearly been moved, and the length of the finger smudges suggested those fingers were a lot bigger than Jess's delicate ones.

Duke ducked into the living room and returned with a fireplace poker. Even though he'd found a weapon of sorts, he let her take point because gun apparently beats poker. It wasn't until they'd done a fairly thorough search of the house that Audrey felt like she could breathe again.

"That was dumb," she admitted back in the kitchen. "What were the odds of whoever it was still being in the house?"

"There was a non-zero chance," Duke said supportively. "Too bad it's snowing, or we could look outside for footprints. You know, just to be sure."

"Is this another ploy?" she asked suspiciously.

"I don't know, is it?"

"Come on, Romeo," she said tugging his hand.

"Romeo?" he scoffed. "I'm way better than him. So many people hold Romeo and Juliet up as the epitome of romance, but their whole marriage lasted three days. If you can't fake a happy relationship for three days, you've got serious problems."

"Ninth grade English?" Audrey asked.

"Tenth."

"Oh, I've heard that kids are little slower around here than we were in Boston," Audrey teased.

"Kids just go through material faster in Boston because you have to cram a lot in before you get shot in a drive-by," Duke said snidely.

From the way his eyes crinkled, though, she realized that he was just teasing her. For the moment, all felt right with the world. And then she remembered Nathan, lying in the hospital, completely unaware that his world just might be shooken up the next time she saw him.

His expression sobered as he looked down at her. "Are you going to avoid him until you get the DNA results back for this test too?" Duke locked the door behind them as he spoke.

It was hard for her not to cringe inside. If she was honest, would he guilt her by saying that a few days was too much when Nathan's condition was so uncertain? Or was it just her heart saying that? "I doubt I'll be able to get into the ICU before then," she said as evenly as she could, like guilt didn't half kill her. But she couldn't see him and not tell him, and she couldn't tell him until she felt more certain...

Mercifully, Duke just nodded. "Good point."

She wanted to explain that the only reason she was reluctant to see Nathan was that she was afraid that the second she saw him all the words in her head would come pouring out of her mouth. If they were related, and part of her still thought there was a chance they weren't, him finding out while literally fighting for his life would be devastatingly bad timing. Giving him something to distract him from getting better would be a crime.

Duke bent down and picked up the bag she'd forgotten he'd put outside before taking her arm. When she gave him an uncertain look, he shrugged. "Come on. There's nothing else we can do here, but we can make the neighborhood raccoons very happy if we leave this food for them out in the woods behind Nathan's house."

"You're not supposed to feed them, are you?"

"A lot of people do. They claim that it keeps them from tearing up the trash," Duke said, and his expression said he thought they were deluding themselves. "As long as you don't accidentally attract bears, I guess there isn't any harm in it."

"Did Nathan ever tell you about the bear?" Audrey asked as they made their way into Nathan's yard. "He scared one off for some woman that night."

He shot her a quizzical look. "Which night?"

"That night," she replied pointedly.

"Oh. That night. But I thought there was a zombie that night," Duke remarked. "Or a kid's imaginary zombie, anyway."

"There was. This happened before he found the zombie."

"Sounds like he had an exciting night."

"So did we," she said, giving him a long look.

Duke just swallowed hard and began tossing leftovers in the woods with a bit more haste than the task probably deserved.


	42. Would of, Could of, Should of

_so, does the summary make more sense now? ::eg::_

* * *

><p>It shouldn't have surprised Duke when Audrey insisted that they go grocery shopping the next evening, not when he knew that both of them currently had cupboards that were nearly bare, but doing something that mundane felt strange after the excitement of the past weeks. He wasn't sure that he was ready to believe that life could settle back down enough to let them carry out such ordinary tasks.<p>

If Audrey had any similar doubts herself, she was better able to mask them that he felt like he was. She had just strode into the grocery store like nothing strange was going on. He sort of admired that.

"Do you know how to tell if a grapefruit is ripe?" she asked in the middle of the produce department. She was giving the fruit in question the sort of skeptical look that she usually reserved for receiving remarks about his and Nathan's childhoods.

"No, not really. Why do you ask?" He held up a hand before she could answer. "Don't say because you don't know how to tell yourself."

Audrey's shoulders rose and fell in a tiny shrug. "I've been thinking that now would be a good time to start eating healthier." His instant assumption was to become concerned that she might think that she needed to lose weight, which worried him. Stress over the past several months had already caused her to shed a few pounds she hadn't needed to. But before he could think the way to assert his opinion in a manner that was neither creepy sounding or controlling, she went on. "I'm a match for Nathan, so it's probably a good idea to try and be extra healthy until we know if surgery will be necessary."

"Because you're concerned about his health," Duke said, not caring that he sounded mildly resentful.

"His, and my own," Audrey corrected him. "If I have to have surgery, the better shape I'm in beforehand the quicker I'll heal. At least theoretically."

"Ah, that does sound reasonable," he admitted. He realized that it would only be true as long as there are no complications, but bringing up the possibility only seemed like inviting trouble so held his tongue. About that.

"' That does sound reasonable'? Thank you for sounding so surprised," she grumbled.

"I..." Floundering while trying to think of something mollifying to say, he began to play with the produce scale in front of them, watching the needle swing wildly as he added downward pressure.

"Yes?" she asked archly, an evil gleam in her eyes.

Duke let the scale go and it clattered noisily. "If people were to sit down and write out lists of our defining characteristics, reasonable wouldn't appear on either list."

For a moment she looked like she was going to protest, but she only shrugged. "You're saying that people have our numbers."

"Pretty much."

She seemed to consider this for a moment and then nodded. "We need to go back to aisle seven." When he gave her a questioning look, she added, "trash bags."

"Okay then." He piloted the grocery cart, glad that the topic had been changed.

The air had a bitter bite to it as they exited the store. Next him Audrey shivered and yanked her coat tighter closed. He'd been about to point out that it has a zipper, but before he got the words out, he noticed something.

Julia Carr was in the parking lot.

All three bags fell from his fingers, forgotten, when he pulled out the gun he'd been carrying around since going to look for Audrey. And at first Audrey looked confused, but before he could respond she saw Julia too. Julia hadn't seen them: the brunette's head was bent, apparently reading the screen of her smart phone.

A terrible excitement filled him when he realized that they'd stumbled across her completely unaware: it was as if the universe was whispering in his ear. Do it. Do it. Responding to the unheard message, he trained the gun on the person he'd long since decided that he'd never really known.

"Duke, don't," Audrey said, her voice low and urgent. "Don't."

It would be a perfect shot, except in one regard. Pulling the trigger would lose him the woman standing beside him, he was fairly sure of it. Not because she couldn't understand killing for the greater good - a blood-soaked day in the woods proved that she understood that all too well. But he had promised not to be the aggressor when it came to Julia, and it was the broken promise she'd not be able to get past. It was because Julia had been nice to her when she needed someone in her corner, he thought. That made her want to look for a way to redeem her. That was a fundamental difference between them; she still had a forgiving heart, and he only forgave on rare occasions.

"Duke?" By then Audrey had touched his arm but hadn't attempted to knock the gun away or force his arm down.

With a start he realized that she was giving him the opportunity to choose to relent on his own. That meant that she thought he might. He didn't put his gun down, but he did look at her.

"Please think this through," she said, looking slightly less uneasy. "You could hit someone else."

He blinked, and realized the first time that there was a woman pushing a grocery cart just a couple hundred yards to Julia's left. And coming up fast on her a gleeful toddler was running from his tired looking father.

"We both know you're not the greatest shot. What if your shot goes wild?" Audrey asked urgently.

"What if it doesn't?" he retorted hastily. But even as he asked, he pictured the satisfaction of watching Julia crumpled to the ground being marred by the toddler shrieking in fear after being sprayed with blood and gray matter.

"Don't," Audrey pleaded.

The look in her eyes chilled him with its bleakness. She now thought he was going to pull the trigger and was just going to the motions of being angel on his shoulder. _Am I_? he wondered detachedly. This moment seemed like the only sure way to get rid of Julia, but what if it was just a choice? Another step along the path to hell that was paved with good intentions? What if murdering Julia Carr in a Shaws parking lot was to be the Pearl Harbor of the battles in Haven, and martyring her then and now threw the situation into open war?

It was the image of people rallying in anger that had him stuffing his gun back into his coat. Deep down he knew with utter certainty that pulling the trigger would've lost him Audrey for good, and the possibility that it would be through violence rather than withdrawn affection terrified him. He didn't want to be the one to throw fuel on that fire after all, not when it was likely to come at the expense of lives.

Before Audrey could react, he grabbed her arm and said, "Let's go."

"W-why?" she stuttered.

"You don't get to ask me that. Just be happy you got your way," he growled, frustrated to be abandoning the perfect chance even if it was the right choice.

Eyes wide, Audrey just said "okay."

Neither of them noticed that they'd left the groceries scattered on the ground until after they'd driven away.

* * *

><p>Later<p>

When Audrey glanced at her phone's display, her heart sank. There was a non-zero change that Nathan's doctor was calling with good news, but then there was also a non-zero chance that the Publishers Clearinghouse van was just about to knock on her door, too. Swallowing down a world-weary sigh, she answered as politely as possible. "Audrey Parker."

To her surprise the voice that responded wasn't the doctor's secretary. "Ms Parker, this is Doctor Stark."

One of the most common complaints people had about their doctors was that it was nearly impossible to speak to them outside the office, so she had to concentrate very hard to keep her voice steady. "What can I do for you?"

There was a moment of silence, then Stark asked, "Are you serious about being a donor if Mr. Wournos needs a transplant?"

"Yes," she said automatically. There were few people she was sure would risk their lives for hers, and he was one of them, so surely she owed him the same consideration. But then she stopped to wonder why he had asked. "I take it he definitely needs one, then?" Nathan must have taken a turn for the worse considering how recently Stark had insisted that he had a good chance of recovery.

"There's still a chance that he'll recover, but his condition is worrisome. I'd expect most patients to have gotten better or worse by now. I suppose it's somewhat fortunate that he hasn't declined as fast as he could, but... I'm trying another treatment. If that doesn't show results in a few days, I'd like to meet with you to discuss this further."

She swallowed hard. Although she was ready and willing to undergo surgery to save Nathan's life, she'd been secretly hoping that he'd just get better on his own. Audrey had done some reading about what life was like for people who had gotten donated organs, and she didn't wish the life changes on Nathan. He'd live, but his quality of life would never be the same.

"Ms. Parker?" The doctor sounded worried.

Audrey wondered how long it had been since she said anything." Right. We'll talk then."

"Um..." He seemed at a loss. Few of his patients ever needed transplants, she guessed. "Thank you."

"No problem," she said before hanging up, even though it was.

There was no way she could avoid seeing him now, even if she was afraid that she'd spill the secret before she was certain that she should tell it. As much as she wanted to wait for him to be better before springing the news on him, she was becoming terrified that if she didn't see him soon, she never would.

Calling the hospital just left her frustrated and depressed: her ambivalence over being able to hold her tongue wasn't the only obstacle to seeing Nathan, the hospital's visitor policy was a barrier too.

_At least Jess is able to sneak in and see him,_ she told herself. Unfortunately that didn't provide much comfort.

* * *

><p>The Next Day<p>

Audrey's first day back at the station left her feeling both sad and irritable. It didn't feel right being there without Nathan, and to make matters worse, she didn't end up leaving the station the entire day. She got the sense that Stan and the other officers might have intercepted calls she might have gone on, perhaps with the misguided intention of letting her ease back into work, but that left her with nothing to do but look over paperwork and try not to stare holes into the clock while she waited for the hours to slowly count down until she could leave.

Duke offered to stop by at lunch, but she knew that there were things he'd been letting slide at the Gull to spend time with her, so she'd waved off the offer. Besides, after the night before, she wasn't sure she wanted him there when it was possible they might argue about him nearly deciding to kill Julia in front of a parking lot full of people. If she was honest with herself, and she certainly had the time to dwell on it, it was the other people in the situation that bothered her. If the shot had gone wild and had hurt someone else… he didn't seem to realize that the guilt would have destroyed him had he injured someone, but she did.

The other thing she couldn't say to Duke was that at that moment, when she'd seen Julia but Julia hadn't seen them, her desire not to put the other woman down like a rabid animal had wavered. If not for the other people just trying to get on with their days there, it would have been so much easier to just have let Duke put an end to their problem. Admitting this to herself made her feel bad, like she was becoming a stranger to herself. What if her mother and grandmother had felt that way before desperation had driven them to do what Lucy had, and what only Dave seemed to know that Sarah had done?

Her thoughts left her so cold that she turned up the space heater she technically wasn't supposed to have but Nathan let slide. It didn't do much to erase the chill she felt, though.

* * *

><p>Hospital<p>

Nathan was pale and still; and it had been years since a healthy flush of color had brightened his cheeks, or at least that's what it had felt like to Jess. The nurses in the ward were sympathetic to Jess, and let her stay with Nathan. It eased their burden, as well, giving them one less patient to watch as they taught her what to look for and trusted her to get their attention should something happen to the now somnolent man.

His face was cast in yellow, with the bright red of fever highlighting the fine cheekbones. The jaundice was plain on most of his body, including the limp hand that Jess now held in her gentle grip. She moved her thumb softly across the back of his hand, a quiet mindless motion.

Nathan would be able to feel the disturbance, the sensitive nerves of the skin transmitting the feel of the pressure, the friction, the warmth of her agitated digit. Of course, as she had long ago learned in a distant physics class, two things could never really touch. The electrical fields caused by the electrons would prevent actual contact, there would always be a distinct gap of space, preventing the true connection. Of course a biology professor had pointed out, it would be close enough, and the physicists got too wrapped up in math to sometimes observe the world around them in a more practical matter.

The man moaned slightly, and she transferred the gentle ministration of her hand to his temple, hoping that Nathan would come around again. "You with me, Nathan?" she asked quietly, both hoping that he would respond and yet not wanting to disturb the sick man.

The man beneath her hand leaned into it, then sighed, settling more quietly into sleep. He looked content, and a small quirk of his lips hinted that he took comfort in the touch. She felt a surprisingly profound happiness. She shouldn't have been able to feel so, not when Nathan lay still, in need of a transplant that he may become too weak to undertake even if they could secure a donor.

Jess Minion had been many things in her life, and she was honest enough to admit, a fool and a coward were included in that number. She had always thought that love would hit you between eyes like a hammer blow, and that you would just know the absolutely perfect man when he arrived on your doorstep. It hadn't happened that way. Her absolutely perfect man had nearly arrested her and had been completely clueless that she was interested. You knew things were bad when Audrey, the ever present third wheel, or so it seemed at the time, had to clue the man into Jess' intentions. Still, she thought love conquered all.

For a brief time she was deliriously happy in Haven. She was being courted by the man of her dreams, lived in a town that was as magical as her grandparents described, and it seemed that nothing could go wrong. The shadowman changed all that. Her personal fairy tale came to a sudden halt, leaving her to be catapulted into the abyss that was the dark side of Haven.

Jess had had a lot of time to think about running, about being afraid, and to regret her actions. Maybe if she stayed, she could have built a life here with this man, one that would have been dangerous, true, but one where she knew he'd do everything in his power to keep her safe. She knew from their conversations that she hadn't been the only one scarred by the shadowman. Nathan had blamed himself for failing to get to her in time, to save her before she knew she needed saving. It had taken every ounce of courage to walk back into her home after she realized that if she ever wanted to confront her demons, she would have to do it in the town where they were birthed.

Nathan had made her feel safe in her home again. There were still nights where she kept the house pitch black, pulling the curtains on the moon to prevent any shadows from forming, but they were getting fewer. She remembered what happened the one night they'd been together, and what had happened after she'd taken him to her bed. She had sat in her living room, cradled in the strong man's arms, and watched the moon chase the stars through the heavens, and stared in dread at the square of light on the floor, fearing that any moment that horrid shadow would appear.

It hadn't, and Nathan never let her go. She fell asleep in his arms, eventually, and woke up in her bed the next morning, much less hesitant to face the shadows around town...at least until she'd found out that he'd been injured. But that night he hadn't asked for anything, or said anything about her fear, neither mocking nor serious. He had quietly helped her reclaim a part of her soul, and moved on with his day. That was the morning she realized she loved him more than she feared the Troubles.

The brunette woman chastised herself severely for all that had gone on. If she had just trusted herself, and this man, maybe this wouldn't have happened. No, it still would have happened, she corrected herself, because Duke and Nathan had strong feelings about each other, but maybe it wouldn't have erupted into violence like it had. Nathan would have been slower to draw his gun. The seditious part of her mind insisted that had she not left, maybe Nathan and Audrey would have let her into the mystery that was Haven, and the entire situation would have been different because Nathan's friendship with Audrey wouldn't have been complicated by their abortive romance.

She tried to laugh and that thought to drive it from her mind and it came out as more of a choked sob. She was so very, very tired, and she missed Nathan, who seemed to be so far away, even though he was right there, sleeping under her hand.

If she hadn't run, they might have even been engaged by then. Maybe even married. She'd be able to make his medical decisions, and not hear second hand that Dr. Stark thought Nathan would need a liver transplant. She tried to imagine what it would be like, to know that she would spend the rest of her life with this man. She wondered where they would live, and amused herself at the thought that their "summer" home would be across town from where ever their winter home was. Maybe they'd just switch off houses every week. It would certainly keep the bad guys guessing, and would make it harder for Audrey and Duke to drop by unexpectedly.

She knew from genetics that it was likely that their children would have dark hair and her own dark eyes, but her grandfather had had green eyes, so it was possible that there would be a light-eyed child in the bunch. Knowing that they would inherit a scoundrel for an uncle in Duke, and given her and Nathan's own less overt but still mischievous natures, the kids would likely be hellions. She'd have to train the dog to bark whenever the kids got into something they shouldn't have. He'd be a good dad, although prone to spoiling the kids, she thought. Not that there seemed to be much luck of them ever progressing far enough in their relationship to consider marriage, never mind children.

There's no use crying over spilled milk or lost kittens, her mother used to say. Unfortunately, the wisdom of the words never quite could hardened Jess' sensitive heart. She sat in the too quiet hospital room and mourned both for what had not been, and what might never exist if Nathan didn't get better soon.

"What do you call a short psychic on the run?"

Jess jumped and fell off her chair with a loud thump. When she gained her feet she saw tired and pained blue eyes staring back at her. "What?" she asked, tentatively.

"I said, what do you call a short psychic on the run?" Nathan's voice was rough.

"Um," Jess thought for a moment. "Troubled?"

Nathan shook his head. "A small medium at large."

Jess groaned. "That was bad, Nathan."

He gave a grin. "I know. But you looked like you needed a bad joke."

Jess looked at him, wondering how long he'd been awake. She realized she didn't care because like always, he was looking out for her, and she needed to look out for him. He was looking too worried, about her or Audrey, or the Troubles. She decided to reply in kind. "I hear laughter's the best medicine. So, how do you hide an elephant in a cherry tree?"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile<p>

Although Audrey claimed that her phone got better reception outside, Duke was pretty sure that wasn't the reason he'd been left watching her through the window as she had an animated conversation with someone else not long after she got home. It was clear that she didn't want to be overheard, and the possible reasons why this could be left him uneasy.

He had expected there to be a lot of time spent the night before dissecting what had nearly happened in the parking lot of the grocery store but Audrey hadn't said a word about it to him. That left him feeling uneasy, like there was a giant shoe dangling overhead, about to drop on him at any moment. Not only did this make him feel a little bad for the cockroaches he'd squashed in a hotel room Simon had brought him and his brothers to once, he felt a little let down because he was being denied the chance to explain himself. It wasn't a conversation he could initiate himself, after all.

Was it?

Even if starting that discussion was the right thing to do, how would he even put his feelings about the whole situation into words that wouldn't upset her? Somehow he was sure that being told that she was more important to him than the chance to take revenge on Julia wouldn't sound nearly as flattering to her as he'd mean it to be. It was true, though. If he had to let Julia be dealt with through sanctioned means rather than acting on his own in order to keep Audrey, he'd do that, as much as it galled him to know that someone like Julia was wandering around free to make as much mischief as she wanted until someone found a legal basis for putting a stop to that. It made him long for the simpler times depicted in movies like **True Grit**. Though even in those movies it was sometimes the decent people who got shot down long before the bad guys.

When Audrey came back inside, her checks were slightly flushed despite the day being fairly warm for late fall. It had been so warm that the snow had all melted, revealing dry brown grass again, which didn't happen until mid-spring some years. If he hadn't run into the Kale family's moving truck on their way out of town back in September, Duke might have wondered if the little boy was still screwing with the weather.

Forcing himself to put on a pleasant expression, he asked, "Did you call the hospital?" She'd told him the night before that she'd changed her mind about waiting to see Nathan, and he was relieved. Nathan was a fighter, but if he didn't make it and she hadn't seen him… he didn't want to think about that.

"I did," she told him with the slightest nod. He could already predict what she'd been told by her frown. "And we have a snowball's chance in hell of getting into the ICU tonight."

"Is that a quote?" Duke asked, almost amused.

"Near enough. Apparently there was a pretty serious car accident."

"Ah."

Her face brightening, she said "But my other call went better. Put on your coat so we can get going."

"Going where?"

She paused. "I was thinking about what I said to you about your aim. We're going to work on fixing that."

"I don't know..."

"Come on, it'll be fun."

He very much doubted that she'd find the experience of trying to teach him fun, but what could he say?

* * *

><p>Being back on the range with Duke reminded Audrey exactly how far she'd come in her relationships with the two most eligible bachelors of Haven. The last time she was here she was investigating a wolf breaking into a car to kill a man. Nathan was by her side, and a nascent relationship with Jess had yet to be born. Now she was here with Duke while Nathan fought for his life in the hospital a few, short, miles away. At the same time it felt wrong, reliving her history like this, but having Duke with her also made it feel right, somehow, too. Startled, she realized Duke likely still knew nothing of the taxidermy animals coming to life, or the woman who had given life to her son twice.<p>

The man in question had laughed when she suggested they go to the hunt club. Dave and Vince, who had been within hearing distance had expressed concern, and advised her to wear a vest. Since then, Duke had considered her with an indulgent and amused expression. He was willing to go along to get along, but it was clear that if Nathan, the Chief, and his father had not been able to teach him to shoot, Audrey would have little luck in the arena.

Audrey herself had mixed emotions about the idea, but with Nathan in the hospital she didn't have much choice. She didn't want to encourage any homicidal notions Duke may be entertaining. She didn't trust him out of her sight; the echoes of the conversation between Dwight and herself still ringing in her ears. On the surface Duke seemed fine, his normal charming, roguish self. However, she'd learned to read him better as their relationship deepened. She could tell that he wasn't nearly as relaxed or calm as he pretended to be.

He had engaged in what appeared to be some sort of whole body sleight of hand. It was as if he was transmitting on a brief delay, analyzing, then reacting effectively hiding the man she'd come to love. He acted like himself, but it was a study of himself. Few, if any, of his reactions were genuine.

It scared her to death. In his casual, slightly irritated, reactions she saw the consummate actor taking the stage. Once, when he hadn't realized she'd been watching him in a window pane reflection, she'd seen nearly unadulterated rage, yet when he'd turned to face her, she'd only seen his normal, affable self.

Now, God help her, she was going to try to teach the man to shoot on a range promised to be so well-lit by strategically placed spotlights you could pretend the sun hadn't gone down. Audrey had heard the stories - the kindest being that if Duke was aiming at you, you were the only thing that was perfectly safe. She'd thought it odd, given that the smuggler had so many guns. Still, she'd never seen him actually hit anything. She or Nathan had always been there before he'd had to shoot, or, in the case of the copycat man, he didn't have time to aim and shoot while simultaneously ducking for cover.

Duke's undisputed favorite was his shotgun, which didn't really require much in the way of aiming. The spray from the shot would ensure that if he was generally holding the gun in the sort-of correct location, it would incapacitate as much as anything. She wasn't worried about that.

She figured, though, that she would work with his second favorite weapon, the automatic pistol. He had a small arsenal of them hidden around his boat. One that prominently wasn't there was the one that had been used to kill John Lester. Duke had, as far as she knew, never reclaimed it from evidence.

Together the couple had exited the car, and Audrey nodded to Dave, who was letting them on to the property.

"I cleared the range, Audrey. No one will come near the place," the older man offered.

"That was nice of you, Dave." Audrey flashed an impish smile.

"Not really. I don't think anyone else wanted to get shot."

The blonde detective felt Duke wince, but his face remained a pleasant mask. Her smile turned tight as she walked past Dave to the shooting range. The range itself was a big bowl made out of sand, with part of the arc removed. The embankment was nearly twenty feet high, and it was nearly as wide at the base. Duke would have to be an epically bad shot to miss the earthworks.

The first thing Audrey had Duke do after he put on the requisite protective gear was to check and load his gun. She watched as he neatly ensured the gun was safe to be fired and had a round chambered. She didn't see any fault in how he handled the gun or ammunition. Through it all he'd kept the gun safely pointed down, away from both of them. Someone had taught him the basics of gun safety, at least. She could sleep better knowing that he wasn't in danger of shooting himself in the head while loading the gun.

"Ok, so there are some targets. Try to aim at them and shoot them," Audrey advised.

Duke shot her an amused glance. Carefully he walked up to the small fence that marked out where shootists were to stand while firing. In the distance, at set intervals of 10 feet, there were several bulls-eyes set up. The targets were arranged such that you could change targets with minimal motion of the gun. She saw him grin at her one more time and then take very careful aim, carefully sighting down the barrel. He held the gun at arm's length, gripping it perhaps a bit too firmly, locking his wrists in place.

The gun jerked in his hand as he pulled the trigger sharply, the tip waving wildly and the bullet safely embedding itself into the dirt near the top of the wall. He tried again, and this time an angry bird squawked its outrage and took flight from the top of a pine on the headland beyond. The third attempt resulted in the bullet skidding along the ground, its trail marked with a long plume of dust rising behind it.

Audrey decided it was time to end it before any more ammunition was murdered. "Wait, Duke. We need to go over a couple of things. First which target were you aiming at?"

Duke shrugged, then answered "All of them? Any of them?"

She shook her head. Somehow even with the targets being thick on the field, he'd managed to miss all of them. It would be a challenge, that would be sure. She thought for sure he would hit something other than dirt. Well, he did, she amended silently. He almost took out a bird in the tree.

"Here's what I want you to do," she started.

"Kiss you and take you to bed? I like that idea," he interrupted, doing his best to distract her.

"Yes, but not right now," she replied. "Listen to me Duke. If push comes to shove, then I want you to be able to back me up. Nathan isn't here, and I need to know that you're going to be safe. So pay attention."

The contrite look, and more importantly the silence indicated that the man was giving her his full focus. "I want you to squeeze the trigger. Don't jerk it around like you were doing. You are ruining your aim." Audrey unholstered her own weapon and checked it over. She checked the weapon and then took up a position on the firing line. She steadied her aim, and then quickly placed a bullet in the center of each target. "It's easy."

Duke rolled his eyes but played along. "Squeeze, not jerk. Got it." He turned again to the targets spread out before him. He returned to his position and sighed. The he started to handle the trigger almost hesitantly. After six rounds he'd managed to not hit any of the targets, but at least no further avians were made homeless. She optimistically believed he was getting closer to the targets. However she didn't have the heart to ask which targets he had been aiming at for fear it wasn't the ones in the front.

The clip was emptied. He reloaded and tried again, this time winging one of the targets in the back, several inches from where the largest circle ended. Seeing the frustrated look on Dukes face, and she came up to him and wished she could do the classic movie thing; where the hero embraces the heroine, and magically corrects all the faults and suddenly the heroine could shoot flawlessly. Duke's sheer size, never mind gender, rendered that plan neutral. He might be able to help him but she doubted being able to adjust his grip through grasping at his elbows would help much.

She could read the frustration on his face as the day wore on. "Do you want to try shooting skeet instead?"

The glare he leveled at her should have leveled the building behind them. "Audrey, I can't hit something not moving in front of me, what on earth makes you think I will be able to shoot something flying through the air?"

She held her hands up in surrender. "Sorry, was just thinking you might like to try something different."

He looked at her again, assessing rather than in anger. "Audrey, I'm not good at it. I haven't hit a single thing I've aimed at." He looked down, and sighed.

"You were getting better. You hit one of the targets!" she defended him to himself.

The dreaded amused look came back. "I was aiming for the one three over and to the back."

"Oh."

"I don't get it," she said. "You should be hitting what you aim at. You grip a little too hard, and you still jerk the trigger a little, but it's nothing that should cause you to shoot that far off."

She wanted to ask him if he was deliberately missing, but she thought from the frustration on his face it wasn't likely. It was like he had an in-built aversion to firing at something and hitting it. She wondered if there had been anything he'd kept to himself when telling her about his reclaimed memories of the day the Kid died. For a horrified moment, she wondered how Simon knew Duke had inherited his deadly gift of curing the Troubled. No, she refused to believe that Duke had killed the Kid. Simon must have just made a lucky guess, figuring his son must have his talents.

She did remember in the academy the relentless drilling on the human targets. Her instructor had told her that people on a whole missed, and that they needed the drilling to overcome the sane person's penchant not to harm his or her fellows. But still, these were simple bulls-eyes. Nothing should be causing him to miss.

A small wind picked up and tossed dust and sand in the air. Duke continued to miss. Audrey tried every trick she knew, and invented a few on the spot as the lessons continued. Nothing worked. Duke was as epically bad as she'd been warned. At one point a bullet had ricocheted off the metal of one of the target posts and sent the bullet whizzing back toward them, burying itself in the ground about five feet to the left of them. She was starting to give up hope.

Duke was looking at her, concerned, and she waved him off, pointing at the targets to indicate he should continue firing. She tried to study his technique and still couldn't identify any faults. Absently he rubbed his nose with the back of his hand and then returned his hand to gripping the gun. Suddenly an explosive sneeze burst forth, almost as loud as the guns report. A new hole appeared directly in the center of the nearest target. Two more sneezes happened, and like magic, too more holes appeared in the signs on either side of the first, each further back than the first target.

Duke looked shocked and awed. "Wow."

Audrey looked at the worn targets. The bullets weren't exactly center, but they were close enough. "Were you aiming at those ones?"

Duke nodded, staring in wonder at the neatly pierced targets.

"I guess we'll be fine in a gunfight so long as I pack extra pepper." Audrey smiled at her amazed boyfriend.

She looked at him again and thought about all had seen in the time since they had been reunited when she got her memory back. Maybe he had really bad eyesight. Except he never wore glasses. Maybe he was blinded by the spotlights glaring down on them. Or not. Who the hell only hits targets when they sneeze? Perhaps Duke was keeping more secrets than she originally thought.

* * *

><p><em>an: Paint the elephant's toenails red. Have you ever seen an elephant in a cherry tree? No? Works then, doesn't it?_

_I think we'll have to post more often considering how much is left to post over the next three weeks…_


	43. Carr's Next Move

Late

An angry buzzing sound yanked Audrey out of a sound sleep, and for a moment she worried that she was under attack by an exceptionally large bee but eventually she realized it was the phone and began to paw at her nightstand for it. And of course she immediately knocked the phone onto the floor.

She retrieved it with a groan and flipped it open. "Who? What?" she asked, giving a huge yawn. After listening a moment, she was jolted into wakefulness. "Okay, be there as soon as I can."

Rolling over, she began to push at Duke's shoulder. "Up, Duke, wake up."

Duke squeezed his eyes tighter together and muttered "no."

"Come on, we've got to go."

He opened his eyes and gave her a petulant look. "Where? Where could we possibly be going at this time of the night?"

"I'm taking you to the station."

"Wow, you really have no idea how chilling hearing that sentence is to someone like me, do you?"

She pushed his shoulder again. "You less reformed than I thought, Duke?"

"Nope. But seriously, what's going on?"

"Julia Carr got brought in tonight," Audrey explained. "Apparently she tried to kill Nathan."

"You said that pretty calmly, so I assume he's okay?" A hint of worry had crept into his voice and she didn't dare tease him about it.

"He's no worse than he was before. Fortunately the cop guarding him was pretty quick to realize that there was something wrong."

Duke raised a skeptical eyebrow. "I assume this is the same good officer who allowed her into his room in the first place after probably falling for some BS line about being an old friend of Nathan's?"

Her mouth dropped open, and she was too tired to make a graceful recovery. Besides, that probably _was_ how Julia got past the guard. "Uh...probably."

"Hmm." He reached for the pants that he'd draped over her chair before they'd climbed into bed earlier. "So why are we going to the station, anyway?"

"Oh. To watch the surveillance tape from Nathan's room."

"Was that your idea or-"

"It was Laverne's, from what Stan said. For some reason she thinks it's important that I see it right away."

"That's the dispatch lady who gives you guys the lovey nicknames, right?" Duke asked, buttoning up his shirt.

Audrey pulled her own shirt over her head. "That's her. Why?"

"She hears all your incoming calls. She must know what goes on around here, doesn't she?"

"I never really thought about it. I guess she must." Audrey eyed him. "What do you think, are there people who have always lived here who are completely unaware of the troubles? People old enough to have remembered the last time or two they came, I mean, not people younger than me."

"Completely unaware? No. But fully capable of burying their heads that deep in the sand and denying reality? You can't be very perceptive of others if you doubt it's possible to believe what you want despite the evidence right in front of your eyes."

"Good point," Audrey replied. Her keys dangled from her fingers. "Come on, the sooner we get this over with, the sooner we-"

"-get it over with?" Duke asked wearily. "You better really like this Laverne woman to lose this much sleep to do what she wants."

"She's nice. Kind of reminds me of one of my mother's older sisters," Audrey said, too tired to have kept herself from saying it. It still stung to remember the family she was trying to convince herself was better off without her.

Fortunately for Duke, he let the comment go without making another allusion to people's ability to deny reality.

* * *

><p>As eager to be done with their task as Duke was, Audrey jogged up the stairs to the station, and pushed the door open. There weren't many people around, but Stan was apparently waiting for her in the lobby.<p>

"Hey Audrey," Stan looked happy to see her, right until he noticed that Duke was with her. "Um, is he going to-"

"Watch the surveillance video with me? Yes he is," Audrey said evenly. "Do you have a problem with that?"

Stan's eyes widened in alarm, and it was clear that he didn't want to piss her off. "Me? Nope. Let me get you both some coffee."

Duke looked at the other man. "You do realize that considering it's one we'd like to get back to bed sometime tonight, don't you?"

"Oh. Ginger ale then, it's caffeine-free."

"Thanks," Duke called to Stan's retreating figure. "What was that about?"

"Remember our fight?"

"Which one?"

"Let me finish! The one about those people who weren't real." With a start she realized that she'd never followed up to find out if the mother and son were still in Haven. The remains of the castle were still in the abandoned lot, so it was possible.

Duke clearly didn't share her train of thought. "Yup. So?"

"I took some of my annoyance at you out on Nathan and Stan. Nathan was used to it, but Stan? Not so much. He's been careful not to piss me off since."

"Awesome."

"It's not awesome!"

"It kind of is," Duke insisted.

Stan returned with two cans of soda in hand. "We've got the video set up for you in here," he said, leading them to a small interrogation room.

"Thanks," Audrey told him, accepting both a can and the remote.

Stan waved and scurried out of the room.

* * *

><p>As the video started, they could hear Julia speaking indistinctly to someone as she opened the door to Nathan's room. He was clearly sleeping, which didn't surprise Duke considering how ill he'd been. This thought made him wonder how long it normally took to get back the results from a DNA test not submitted through a doctor's office, and to worry that the transplant would need to happen before Audrey got her definitive answer, not that he thought her willingness to undergo surgery hinged on the results. But in a Herculean show of restraint, he didn't open his mouth and broadcast any of these thoughts. Mostly because the intent look on his girlfriend's face suggested that she might smack him with the remote control if he made them have to rewind the tape.<p>

On the screen before them, Julia shut the door with deliberate casualness. And when the officer didn't immediately open the door in protest, Audrey gave a frustrated sigh. "Larry's new."

"It shows."

Their attention returned to the screen as Julia reached Nathan's bed and began to speak to him. "Nathan...you awake? I want you awake." Nathan didn't wake up. At least until Julia slapped him across the face. Then his eyes opened. He looked up at her, startled. "There you are. We need to have a chat."

They could hear Nathan croak something that was probably "what."

Julia held her finger to her lips and shushed him. "No no, don't speak. I'm not so much interested in what you have to say as to tell you what's going on." As she spoke she jabbed at him with stiff fingers, making him glare up at her but do nothing else. _That's how sick he is_, Duke found himself thinking. He found himself beginning to mentally urge the Nathan on the video to do something to fight back, but Nathan was too weak to.

"By now you've heard about our attempt to get Duke to return to the fold," Julia was saying. "But because my uncle's followers were loyal but not overly bright Audrey slipped out of our fingers. Don't get me wrong, I thought about making another attempt on her life. It wouldn't have worked as a way to get Duke to come his senses, but it might have made me feel better." Even in the dimmed light of the hospital room, her eyes glittered with a malicious brightness. "But I decided against it."

Duke had put his hand on Audrey's knee when Julia mentioned wanting to kill her again, but she shook it off and leaned forward. For a moment he was miffed, worried that she was thinking about what he'd been so keen to do on Sunday afternoon, but he finally realized she was just looking at Julia more closely.

"In fact, I think I've decided against trying to get Duke to join our side after all."

"Can I get a hallelujah?" Duke muttered. Audrey didn't seem to notice.

"After all, he's probably not the only one to carry the useful curse that has infected his blood line," Julia continued. "Tracking down one of his brothers shouldn't be too hard. I'll just look in prisons until I turn one of the other boys up. Funny, isn't it, that Duke's the white sheep in his family? I told your precious Audrey that the apple didn't fall far from the tree, but that one rolled farther away than the rest."

Nathan said something unintelligible. Duke knew it wasn't intelligible because they rewinded it twice, turning it up more each time to try and catch it. It shouldn't have come as a surprise, then, when Julia's voice boomed out of the TV's speakers a moment later, but they both jumped. "I know you're wondering why I'm here, Nathan." Julia bent down and roughly yanked the pillow out from under Nathan's head. "I thought about what would make Duke and Audrey the most miserable, you know, for crossing me. And you know what I came up with? Making sure that Audrey's sick bestest buddy never leaves the hospital."

Julia brought the pillow up, and on-screen Nathan began to squirm weakly, trying to get away from her. Next to him Audrey let out a small moan of horror. This time she didn't push his hand away when he tried to comfort her. "We know he's okay," Duke murmured, and was relieved when she relaxed a little. He worried that she'd ask him how they knew since they only had the other cops' word on it, but she didn't.

"I would say it's nothing personal, Nathan, but it is," Julia snarled. With that she lowered the pillow to his face.

And that's when Duke noticed what Nathan held in his hand. It was the call button for the nurses. He wanted to express his admiration that Nathan had managed to capture it while appearing to try to get away from his tormenter moments earlier, but the image of him flailing in the bed as Julia held the pillow over his face silenced his tongue for a second time.

Apparently Officer Larry noticed nurses rushing towards Nathan's room and wanted to be helpful, because he flung the door open. Then looked shocked as he saw what Julia was doing. The slightly dim officer redeemed himself by launching himself at her and knocking her to the ground. Before Julia could so much as try to wiggle away, he had his gun trained on her and was snapping cuffs on her with the other hand. The tape ended there.

"Poor Nathan," he exclaimed, glad to finally be able to say something before he exploded.

"It's going to be a bear to see him now," Audrey sighed. "They'll up his security detail after this for sure."

"Why? Julia's going to be cooling her heels at county."

"I will not ask you how you know that," Audrey said primly, making him smirk. "And so what? Didn't we think the worst was over when the Rev died? These people..."

"I know."

A knock at the door interrupted, and when Duke turned his head to look, the woman staring at them looked vaguely familiar. It wasn't until she spoke that he was sure of her identity, though.

* * *

><p>"You watched the video?" Laverne asked, her tone too urgent to overlook even as tired as Audrey was. "Both of you."<p>

"We did," Duke confirmed.

The older woman relaxed a little. "I was afraid that Stan was going to give you a hard time for letting a civilian see it, but I was hoping you both would watch it."

"Why?" Duke demanded to know.

Laverne's shoulders slumped again. "Because I need your help. Normally I'd go to Nathan, but he's out of commission right now."

"What sort of help?" Audrey asked, trying to keep her voice neutral.

To her surprise, Laverne's expression became indignant. "You can't think that I have no idea what's going on around here, do you? You and Nathan get the sticky calls instead of the rest of the force because I know that the two of you have the good sense to keep your mouths shut." She threw a look Duke's way. "And you, you help them. You both know exactly what sort of help I need."

Duke casually shut the door to the interrogation room, so that no one else would hear them talk. Audrey hoped that no one had been listening already. "Okay, so we know what you mean. But what do you mean?" Before the other woman could get too frustrated, she elaborated. "What sort of help do you need, specifically?"

"I want you to get that little Carr bitch to tell you where she's keeping my cousin Eunice," Laverne snarled in a completely un-Laverne-like way.

Audrey blinked at her. "What makes you sure that she has your cousin?"

Laverne spread her hands. "Eunice is, you know, troubled."

"Are you?" Duke asked so eagerly that Audrey cringed inside. They couldn't help the dispatcher if she was afraid to talk to them.

"No, I'm not, fortunately. It only got passed down to the girls in the family, and it's my father that is her mother's sibling."

"What sort of-" Duke started to ask before Audrey nudged him and shook her head. "How long has she been missing?" he asked instead, apparently realizing that the first question he'd wanted to ask was too bold.

"Months." Laverne sighed. "I haven't seen her since spring."

He almost asked her what made her so sure that Eunice was even alive then, but he realized that he shouldn't. Just like he was never going to ask Audrey if she now thought she should have simply let him shoot Julia in that parking lot before she could bother Nathan. Both things might have made him feel better to ask, but only him.

"That's terrible," Audrey told Laverne with feeling. "If there's any way that I can get Julia to talk to me, I will."

Duke looked at her, surprised. That was a big promise considering that Julia wasn't likely to be in a particularly cooperative mood. "You've got a stash of truth serum I don't know about?"

"Yeah, I poured it in our drinks that night back in August," Audrey said sarcastically before turning her attention back to the dispatcher. If she hadn't, she might have noticed him blushing. "He does have a point, though. She might not give up the information easily."

"Then water board her," Laverne suggested, looking absolutely serious. "Or pull out her fingernails. Something has to get her talking."

"I didn't think the Haven PD encouraged torture for information seeking purposes," Duke said mildly because he couldn't hold his tongue over that too.

"It doesn't. But I do."

Audrey gave her coworker a nervous smile. "I'll do my best, but I'm not going to make any promises."

Laverne's expression said that she'd expected as much, and held a mild disapproval over Audrey's reluctance to go medieval on Julia. "I know, lamb, you'll do what you can. That's all I can ask."

Affecting a huge yawn, Duke looked pointedly at the clock. "Would you look at the time? I can't believe it's so late. Laverne, I hope you'll forgive me for dragging her away, but I've got to get up damned early."

"No problem, sweetpea," she said, giving him a sunny smile. "I'm not about to lead you off the straight and narrow now that you've finally put your feet on that path."

He just stared at her until Audrey took his arm and walked outside. Her shoulders shook and at first he was worried that being upset over Nathan had finally gotten to her, but then he realized that she was silently shaking with laughter.

"What's so funny?" he demanded to know.

"I know, I'll go right up to the women's prison and set up a room so I can water board Julia."

Duke nodded slowly. "And don't forget your pliers, in case you need to pull out her fingernails, lamb."

"Okay, sweetpea, but I'll need to work alone so I don't accidentally bring you over to the dark side," Audrey said between gales of laughter.

"Hey, don't worry, I already know how to get there on my own."

She sighed and leaned against him unexpectedly. It took him a moment to adjust. "What?"

"Can we raid the bar at the Gull when we get home? I don't know about you, but I'm not sleepy at all anymore."

"I seem to recall us having a couple of nights like that which only got us into trouble," he told her, smirking.

"What's the worst that could happen? I've already unwisely hooked up with you, and Nathan knows." She kissed his nose. "Besides, I kind of like getting into trouble with you."

"Do you?" he asked archly.

"Pretty sure."

He ended the conversation by kissing her until they made their way to the car.

* * *

><p>Morning<p>

Nathan was getting very sick of seeing his doctor's face. And the fact that the older man's expression was decidedly worried didn't make him like him any more.

After a few minutes of poking and prodding, Stark sighed. "Well, at least you don't seem to be any worse off than you were before that lunatic assaulted you."

If other people hadn't spoken to him over the past several hours about Julia Carr, Nathan would have sworn that she'd never been there, and instead had simply been another manifestation of how illness and medication were torturing his imagination. Duke had mentioned her before he took a serious turn for the worse, but it still seemed surreal to Nathan that Eleanor Carr's beloved daughter had taken up Reverend Driscoll's mantle. Oh, he'd known that Audrey's actions were going to come back to haunt them, but he hadn't ever quite imagined…

He must have looked distant because Stark snapped his fingers, startling him. "You with me, Nathan?"

"Yeah," Nathan admitted, a little surprised that Stark was calling him by his first name. Usually it was Mr. Wournos this or Mr. Wournos that.

"I hope you understand that your condition is quite serious," Stark said gravely.

Nathan didn't bother asking how serious, he could tell just from looking at people's faces. Especially Jess, who was no longer trying to hide her fear from him. "I understand."

"One saving grace is that your partner is willing to donate part of her liver if a transplant becomes necessary," Stark said, making Nathan look up at him with a bit more of an attempt to concentrate.

"She is?" he asked slowly, once he worked out that Stark meant his work partner, and hadn't been trying to be delicate about what to call Jess. "Really?"

"Really. She insisted on being tested for compatibility, and of course Ms. Minion backed her on it…" Stark trailed off even though he looked like there was something more he wanted to say. Probably something insulting about Jess, whom he took no pains to hide a dislike of. "It's just a lucky thing she thinks so highly of you."

"Uh huh." Unless of course Audrey was inspired by guilt, he mused sleepily. From what Jess had told him, Audrey could now remember her past, and no doubt could remember killing the Rev which had started the whole mess. Or the latest round of it, anyway.

"Maybe it won't come to that, though," Stark said with forced cheer. "Your numbers look marginally better."

_I don't feel better_, Nathan thought sullenly. And he'd been told he was getting better before the mysterious numbers had crashed again.

"I'll check on you later," Stark promised. "It looks like you have company."

Nathan looked towards the door, hoping it'd be Audrey so he could ask her if she was willing to undergo surgery for him because she thought she'd brought what had happened to them both upon them, but it was Vince and Dave who peaked around the heavily guarded hospital room door.

Stark walked past them, striding purposefully away.

* * *

><p>As they walked in expression on Dave's face showed that he was surprised, and happy to see Nathan awake and aware. "My, my," the older brother said, pleasure evident in his voice. Vince looked up from an involved discussion on the best method of preparing strawberry rhubarb pie with Stan.<p>

Vince was wearing a plum colored sweater, and Dave was wearing a forest green one in the exact same pattern. Nathan lifted is eyebrows. The two men usually took care not to wear alike clothing. Many people were confused about the two men being brothers, understandable since they looked nothing alike. Vince generally let the ideas that some people had that they were a gay couple slide off his back, but Dave could get rather feisty about the situation. Vince took it in stride, as he did most things, but his wardrobe didn't usually help him out. For a man that claimed to hate purple, he spent a lot of time dressed in shades of it.

The two men were cleared into the room by Stan, and for a moment looking at them, Nathan was reminded of the movie Secondhand Lions. He wondered if the Teagues came by a fortune what they would do with it. He had visions of Dave ordering a secondhand lion for one of the hunt clubs shoots, and then decided the drugs were muddling his wits.

Vince ambled forward and held out a small vase containing lilies. "We thought you might like them," he said, then put the vase on the window sill.

Nathan croaked out, "Thanks."

Dave, filled with the manic energy of nervousness bounced around the room examining everything. "You're looking a bit better," he commented on one of his laps. "Hardly yellow at all."

Vince grimaced. Nathan noted the role reversal. Generally it was Dave that played the smarter one, with Vince playing the bumbling one. The two had been like this since the meeting of the Troubled. Whatever had happened between them had opened up a rift between the normally inseparable brothers.

Vince glared slightly at his older brother. "Yes, much improved indeed. Why I'm sure you'll be up and about in no time at all. Perusing criminals with daring do and all."

Nathan almost thanked Vince for the undisguised sarcasm in his tone - there was nothing he was more sick of than being ill, but having people trying to convince him he was getting better like that would make it so was quite grating as well. Positive thinking was all well and good, but it wasn't going to get him out of that hospital bed.

"Pursuing, Vince, pursuing. It hardly takes much daring do to look at a criminal," Dave added, acidly.

Vince thought about it. "I don't know about that. Remember Carl Manfred?"

"The streaker that ran through town every year on Founders day?" Dave asked.

Vince nodded.

Nathan winced.

"Ok, you may have a point. Chasing down Carl wasn't difficult, but watching a 400 pound man lumber down the street was definitely a feat of daring do." Dave turned to Nathan. "Your father was a brave man."

The invalid laughed. "You know, he wasn't really naked. He was wearing a speedo. You just couldn't see it under the beer gut. The Chief couldn't get him on indecent exposure charges. Best he could do was lobby the state to make a law saying that at least a third of your butt needed to be covered while in public."

The three men took a moment to consider butt floss and large men in speedos, but not very long because they couldn't afford the time in the Freddy it would certainly cause if pondered too long.

"So, have a good sound bite for the Herald?" Dave asked. "I mean it isn't everyday someone tries to snuff the chief of police in his own bed."

"Interim chief, and this isn't my bed," Nathan replied, wishing he was in any other bed at the moment. This bed was a far cry from his own bed, that had his own well worn divot that was perfectly shaped to his body. Jess had wanted him to replace his mattress, till she'd tried out his divot. Now she wanted him to sleep in her bed, hoping that he'd make another perfect divot in her bed. A brief, irreverent thought occurred to Nathan: A scene long into the future when he and Jess were married and getting a divorce and arguing over who got possession of the divot. Definitely the good drugs were still in use.

Vince got the dopey, amiable older man look on his face that he used to disarm others. "But still..."

Nathan tried to glare at him, but was stymied by things being fuzzy. Vince would make a good kitten. He'd have to be a rex, though, with all the curly hair. He wanted to reach out and pet it, to see if Vince's hair was as soft as the Devon Rex one of his cousin's had. He pulled himself back to the subject with an effort.

"I'll tell you what, guys. I'll give you a statement when I'm nearly murdered in my own bed in my own house," Nathan paused. "After I recover sufficiently."

Dave looked at Nathan, clearly amused. "Ok. So, Vince, can you call up Dwight and arrange for a near hit on Interim Chief Wournos? If it bleeds, it leads and all that."

Nathan shook his head and groaned.

Vince came over and patted the recovering man on the head. "Dave, you know Dwight wouldn't hurt Nathan."

"Exactly," Dave beamed. "He wouldn't have to hurt Nathan, just rough him up a little."

"You two know I'm still in the room here?" Nathan asked, peevishly. "In fact, these ... things attached to me pretty much ensure I can't go anywhere." When he moved a hand, the IV line moved with it.

Dave nodded. "Yes, well, forewarned is forearmed."

Nathan wondered if this was as surreal a conversation as he thought it was or if the drugs were still making things make no sense. Dave was slowly beginning to look like a hostile incandescent light bulb, which reminded Nathan he needed to stock up on them before they became hard to find. He didn't like the new compact fluorescent lights, even if they were better for the environment. Besides which, a bamboo torch would be best for the environment, seeing that it was a completely renewable resource, and the smoke would likely ensure mosquitoes would go away.

Nathan was envisioning opening Maine's first torch store when he realized his eyes had closed on his guests. He should open them, but didn't really want to. He was enjoying the thought of farming bamboo with Jess more than returning to a conversation where two of Haven's most up-right citizens were cheerfully trying to figure out how to get Haven's second most-crooked citizen (first after Duke) to nearly kill him in his own bed for a Herald statement. He must have closed his eyes for too long as he heard the two men preparing to leave his room, wishing him well. He continued to concentrate on a happy little bamboo farm and farm stand that sold torches to the good people of Haven.

His brow furrowed in worry, however, when a long forgotten version of Frankenstein flitted into his mind. He'd definitely make people promise to never hunt anyone with his torches. Pitchforks might be a bigger problem, but at least he didn't plan to sell those.

"You feeling okay, Nathan?" a voice asked, but it felt so far away. Somehow Nathan thought his numbers wouldn't look good anymore.


	44. Contemplations

Dwight looked in on his sometimes boss, sometimes friend, general source of income, and the best bet the troubled had of staying safe. The glass doors outside the ICU allowed him to see into the small room where the officer was kept. The cleaner had strayed to the floor several times since the detective had been moved, and wished that he'd paid more attention to his unit's medic back when he was rattling off terms practicing for med school, provided he survived his tour.

The cleaner knew on a logical level that the tetracycline that reduced the quiet man to the sinister stillness before him should have been harmless. Hell, kids used it all the time to get rid of pimples. Hard to reconcile that with the jaundiced figure in the bed. Nurses were coming by every quarter hour or so, taking samples, adjusting things, simply recording notes and doing other "nursely" things. A tired looking Dr. Stark came down and stared at the officer for a while, poking and prodding and doing nothing particularly effectual as far as Dwight could tell.

He'd known before the good doctor had told Audrey that there was likely to be a need for a liver transplant. The hospital staff continued to monitor the officer, hoping that stopping the treatment itself may have been enough to stave off that need. They were doing something with the IV lines Nathan was sprouting like some sort of parasitical infection. But Dwight wasn't sure if it was working or not. The tired man had not noticed much of a change in the man since he'd been brought to the ICU.

If Nathan died, he wondered what would happen. With things as up in the air as they were, who would the Troubled turn to? Audrey was the obvious choice, but she was also linked to the Troubled's worst nightmare - Duke. Would they trust that she would keep Simon Crocker's son on a leash, or would the more militant decide that the son was no better than the father and take action independently? Would Dave or Vince quietly encourage it? Dwight shook his head. Dave, perhaps. He knew some secret that he was too afraid to speak of, yet desperately wanted out in the open. Vince had, in his own quiet way, tried to ensure Duke wasn't a threat, and at the same time had been kept safe, at least when he had sicced the ex-Ranger on the smuggler.

The blond man sighed as he moved his mop mindlessly over the worn linoleum. If someone were to hurt Duke, if Nathan weren't there to intervene, would Audrey turn into the violent, unstable woman some people, like Dave, had reported her mother to have been? Already in the time he had known her the bright smile had dimmed. Audrey had come seeking the answer to a personal mystery that had turned too convoluted and bizarre to be a nightmare. Would she finally snap if someone fatally injured Duke? Would he, Dwight, be able to stop her from seeking revenge? Could someone turn her emotional distress against her, turning her into the weapon Duke had already twice refused to be? Too many questions, and too much room for failure if Nathan didn't pull through.

Nathan was the lynch-pin that seemed to hold everything else in balance. He was calm to Audrey's unfettered enthusiasm. Stable when she was preparing to leap off the edge, and able to catch her when she couldn't do it herself. Nathan had a good head on his shoulders, and had been able to keep the town together after the Chief had died. It hadn't been until he had been brought into the meeting with the other Troubled that Dwight had begun to worry that the quiet man had begun to be polarized. Even then, he kept his head until the last abuse of Audrey being kidnapped that had led to his current situation. And in the end, he'd seemingly forgiven Duke, and believed the smuggler hadn't been responsible.

Duke had some sort of weird love/hate relationship with Nathan, but did seem to submit, mostly, to the quiet cop. He'd bitch and complain, make a lot of noise, but if Nathan needed him, the smuggler would be there. And Nathan could read Duke like a book. A lifetime together had granted him the ability to see past Duke's glib persona. The two men obviously had a complicated history. Nathan in turn did not quiet turn a blind eye to Duke's less savory habits, but at least didn't assign a full time detail to the man either. There was a truce between them, and potentially a rekindling of friendship.

Those two were a study in dark and light. Dwight wondered if Nathan were up and about if he would be able to rein in Duke or not. The happy-go lucky attitude may be permanently gone if the detective died. It was hard to argue that beyond anything else, the smuggler did trust Nathan, something that was as rare as furred trout. Dwight knew that Duke trusted him with Audrey, but not with his own safety, nor likely would he ever after the attack on the boat. Hell, he'd activated Duke's Trouble. Put the man under the stress with his ill-conceived attack that caused Duke's life to turn upside down. Vince had been right about not telling him. Duke hadn't been a threat, and likely wouldn't have been one, he realized now. Dwight took it upon himself to eliminate what he perceived as a threat to his people, and thus ensured the problems that followed. Duke had lasted a long time as a criminal, he didn't do stupid often. He wouldn't have gone on a full scale murdering spree in the small town.

The whole thing was a giant mess, one the cleaner thought was too big from anyone person alone. Now they had a dying officer, a vigilante pirate, a quasi ex-FBI/detective, two old coots that couldn't, or wouldn't, tell them vital pieces of information, and people living out a war that didn't need to happen. The whole thing seemed balanced on the edge of disaster. Like that eternal second between the moment you realized your world was about to end and you took the reflexive gasp your body demanded.

It would all fall apart if this one man fell.

* * *

><p>Jess had a great deal of respect for the nursing staff of most of the hospitals she had worked in, both from Canada and the US. The men and women that were trained to the profession were usually two types - one kind was the called to it and ones that were looking for rich significant others. The later were usually found quickly and persuaded to find another profession or decided that the payoff was not enough to deal with miserable patients. However the ones that were called, they fought for their patients, sometimes in spite of them, and comforted the families with the truth.<p>

People had this vision of an idealized Florence Nightingale when they thought of nurses. People who give and give and are saints. Jess knew the good nurses weren't like that. They didn't lie. They didn't sugar-coat the truth. The nurses, and even the orderlies, dealt with the patients day in and day out, they were closer than the "life-saving" doctors who rushed around. Many of them had gentle hearts that had to develop thick walls to deal with the inevitability of losing a patient. They understood pain at most every level having to deal with it day in and day out. They existed to ease suffering, and sometimes that was done best by cutting off the damaged portions, or being brutally honest when you couldn't stand to hear the truth. The nurses had told her that unless things improved very soon, the outlook for Nathan was not good. It was looking more and more like the transplant surgery would be required.

Jess had never wanted to be a nurse. She knew she didn't have the calling. That didn't mean she didn't respect those that did.

Her sneakers squeaked on the wet flooring and she spotted Dwight down the hall with a mop and bucket. He'd found lots of reasons lately to hang around the hospital, and the ICU in particular, since Nathan had begun his quick descent. She was trying to figure out if he was guarding the man, or just simply trying to be around in case Nathan took a sudden turn for the worse.

She quietly ducked into Nathan's room and looked at him. He was slowly collapsing in on himself as his body destroyed itself. The yellow tint to his skin was hard to see at the moment, between the blue wash of the florescent lights above him. It was nice to see that they had fixed the bulb that had been weakening, though she had liked the effect in her more exhausted moods. It had reminded her of one of the specialty lights they sold at Spencer's in the mall, between the lava lights and the "Borg" lights.

He looked unchanged from the last time she had snuck into see him. A nurse with the unlikely name of Ratchet who was on the night shift let Jess in to see Nathan if she wanted. The woman believed strongly in the healing power of friends and family. She swore that the patients who got visitors did better and recovered faster than those that were left alone. Humans, were, after all, prone to live in groups, and few were true loners.

She felt the paper like texture of his skin. Despite all the fluids pouring into his body, the dry air of the hospital was leaching the moisture from his skin. It made his hands look old, much older than his face. She leaned down and kissed him gently on his closed eyes, saying a prayer to any gods or kindly spirits that may have been listening to deliver him safe from whatever shores his dreams cast him upon.

The dreams didn't look unpleasant, which was a good thing given the alien abduction conversation that had been relayed to her right before he got worse. She made a note to find out from Audrey what that show was that dealt with the FBI agent that chased aliens. She could redo his office and label it with the agent's name. Audrey was sure to know it. She planned on what she would do - perhaps first changing his nameplate so it said Agent Wournos. She remembered something about a poster with a flying saucer on it. She bet Duke could find it. She'd pay him to smuggle it for her. She then wondered if posters actually could be smuggled. Duke would probably say yes just for the potential business opportunities. She spent the next half hour contemplating the redecoration of Nathan Wournos' home and office to match... whatever the show was called.

She had considered the possibility of Nathan dying in the quiet darkness of her own home. The nurses she respected had told her it was a possibility when she asked. They said that even with a liver transplant it was wasn't certain the man would live. In fact, it was possible Audrey might die. Even if they were both OK, there were long term problems for both the donor and recipient. Many were dead within 15 years. The thought of losing Nathan could not be contemplated for long. It made her house feel empty, and her bed feel much too large for her frame. Nathan belonged to this town. She needed him to keep her safe. She just needed him.

Jess just sat watching her man. She wanted him to wake up, to see him happy and pain free again. She quietly was wondering if that day would ever come to pass. Even if he did live through this he had a long, long recovery ahead of him, one that he could easily relapse in, or develop complications from. This time, though, she knew her place. It was by his side.

* * *

><p>Audrey listened to the bar below her. Duke was having one of his eclectic music nights. He normally used the satellite radio to supply the music to the restaurant and bar, but sometimes he brought in his music collection and played it, just because. He refused to have TVs or sports radio in the bar, or at least, refused to have the sports radio on if there were more than 10 patrons. He claimed Boston sports fans were too rowdy and violent for the restaurant. He didn't seem to care that he lost business every time it seemed like maybe the Red Sox might make it again to the playoffs.<p>

She'd heard Evanescence earlier, chased by Sweet Talk Radio, then some Paul Simon and then some things she'd never heard before, and a few she wished never to hear again, and now it was the Monkees "A Little Bit You, A Little Bit Me." She remembered the first time she heard it, really the first time she and Audrey II had heard it. Audrey II had heard it in a school dance. Audrey I had heard it in her adopted father's beat up Datsun.

For some reason it reminded her of Nathan. It took a little bit of both of them to keep things going. If either walked out, the town would become unstable. However Davy Jones pleaded for the girl to stay, and in this case she pleaded for her partner. Nathan filled a hole in her life, one that was always empty. He was like a drink of ice cold water you didn't know you needed, she thought. He could make her laugh, make her cry, and make her curse like... Duke.

She remembered spending so much of both of her lives alone. One of the things the two Audreys shared was a constant state of loneliness. Something she hadn't been even aware of until she came to the small backwater town. Nathan had been her first friend, first one in years. There was something in the man that she gravitated to, and had once momentarily mistaken for romantic love.

The quiet detective was her bedrock. She could go out and try to save everyone, because she knew fundamentally that he would be at her back, watching it. It was a strange, distracting feeling. Nathan was rather like a creeping vine, one that wound its way around you until you didn't notice you were ensnared. She rather enjoyed the feeling of security he brought with him.

She couldn't remember when she decided that he was her friend. It was more like a gradual realization than anything else. She remembered their first meeting, and thinking he was an idiot when he told her not to move when she already held a gun on him. She'd long since found out first impressions could be very, very wrong. Nathan had a sharp intelligence he sometimes hid behind a good old boy facade. He'd mastered the art of playing to people, as much a con man as Duke was in his own fashion. To be a public servant, one that was visible in the eye of the town required a certain amount of deception. She knew without a doubt that there were people walking around, natives of the town that had heard of the Troubled only as a myth. That was largely Nathan's doing.

Dwight may have been able to come up with plausible explanations for the fantastic events, but it was Nathan that everyone believed. He exuded an air of trust and honesty. Few ever doubted Nathan's word. He had a sterling reputation for being fair. The entire town believed him when he gave his word. It was an amazing thing.

And yet, Nathan, who could be cast as Maybury RFD's famous sheriff, was all together human. It was his flaws that she loved best. His complete and total cluelessness when Jess first came on to him. The way he'd been the first into Duke's room after the doctor told them the ancient young man could have visitors, and then promptly gave the ailing sailor a tongue lashing on gross stupidity and self-destructive behavior.

She knew without a doubt that Nathan was instrumental in keeping the whole town together. She was so scared he would die. The funny thing was, she recognized the shape of her loneliness now and didn't it want it thrust back on her. Having friends, real friends, was addicting. To know that she could call and he would pick up. To know that she didn't have to face everything alone. It had taken her a while, but she'd gotten used to it. Or at least she had as Audrey Parker.

The quietly failing nursing student she had once been had made friends and left them. Friends were like socks - comfortable for a time but ultimately replaceable. Her time in Haven had taught her differently. She knew what it was to have more than a superficial relationship. She saw how her actions impacted her two best friends, and it made her want to change. She wanted to be a better person because of them.

Idly she wondered if that's why Duke always was flitting around Nathan, like a moth to a bug zapper. The never seemed to get along very long, but at the same time, they were always there for each other. She wondered if her kidnapping and subsequent adventures in amnesia had taken Duke's mind off the fact that his favorite sparring partner was dying, then reminded herself that Nathan wouldn't have taken up residence in the hospital if she hadn't been kidnapped in the first place. Duke had seemed to look to Nathan as something of a compass, and navigated his life by what Nathan would not want him to do. Except slowly that was changing, too. Nathan hadn't been willing to wager it was permanent, but even he was hard pressed to say that the man that was serving drinks downstairs had not changed slightly for the better.

Nathan's rage and assumption that Duke had something to do with her disappearance was still upsetting the smuggler. God, is Nathan made it through this, and if something happened to her, would the two men kill each other? Duke still hadn't really said what had happened, but she knew he'd been waking up with nightmares. Would she lose the man that was trying so hard to change his life from a wayward scoundrel if Nathan died? Duke had already lost so much. Funny to think he'd been an innocent in Haven's troubles. For such a strong man, he really did need their protection, now more than ever.

When Nathan got better, she was going to kick his ass for trying to pull a gun on her boyfriend. The she was going to hug him and yell at him never to do something so stupid as to get shot again. Assuming he survived the transplant scheduled for just a few days later.

* * *

><p>Duke hung his head and wondered how in he was going to make it to 2AM, when the bar shut down. Nora was out with the flu and he was covering her shifts. Being responsible was a drain on the free-spirited young man. Still, he owed it to her, and to Bill McShaw to keep the place running. It was, after all, his second chance. The crowd wasn't rowdy tonight, for which he was grateful. His shotgun would likely not be shown. He wouldn't have to break up a fight.<p>

Sometimes you had to make the best you could of small mercies. Audrey was upstairs and she'd probably let him crawl into bed with her. Sleep sounded like a delicious luxury. When he slept he could finally turn off his mind. The sad thing was he'd been going with little sleep for so long now his body had decided it was normal. He had a hard time being unconscious for more than 4 hours at a stretch. It was making him crabby, along with the constant surveillance by Audrey.

He felt bad for her. She was like a pinball being flung into bumpers trying desperately not to fall down the hole between the flippers. The thing with Nathan was wearing on her. It was wearing on all of them. Now she faced surgery and a lifetime of potential health complications to save a friend. Even though he was sure the DNA test was right even if she wasn't, it was still hard for him to think of Nathan as her brother. He supposed that would come in time. He hoped he'd get to find out.

Another call for some drink took Duke's attention for the whole minute and a half it took to mix the liquor together. Would that all things were as simple as bar-tending. You memorized recipes and followed them. If you wanted to you got inventive and made your own. You tried to keep your patrons happy and alive, because a person caught driving drunk would sue you and likely wouldn't return, netting you less cash in the long run. Tending bar was the easiest thing he had to do, or so it seemed to him.

He wished he had an idea of what to do with Audrey. Ironically at that moment Anberlin's "Audrey Start the Revolution" started. He rather hoped she didn't start a revolution. She would, though, for Nathan. He wasn't stupid. The detective held a very special place in his lover's heart, and he wondered if their relationship would survive what may have to happen to save Nathan.

Nathan had always accused Duke of being a selfish bastard. It was the detective, though, that was angling for his partner's vital organs. Duke would not have asked Audrey to do it, would have flat out denied her help if his and Nathan's positions were reversed. There were too many horror stories of people going under the knife and not waking up. Too many things that could go wrong. The gamble would be too large. His life wasn't worth hers, wasn't worth Nathan's in the great scheme of things.

Nathan was a royal bastard to have done this to them. Leave them hanging like this, suspended, not knowing what was going to happen. Why had the damned hot-head been hellbent on killing him? Because Audrey was missing. Did Nathan really think that Duke could have ever hurt the woman that had brightened his dark and tarnished soul?

All his life Nathan had been better than him at nearly everything. Nathan was the jock, king of the school, the "good" child despite his occasional classroom antics. No one but Duke knew that Nathan had not always been the model citizen the people of Haven thought their fearless leader to be. Instead, he had been privy to Nathan's burning rage after his mother had died, something he had kept hidden from The Chief. Duke obliged him because he understood so horribly what it was to suddenly go missing a parent. The smuggler remembered waiting endlessly for his father to come back, and being angry that he had died.

When the two had been five they had been fast friends, and by the end of their eight year they'd been mortal enemies. At twelve they'd grudgingly accepted each other's existence and lack of ability to erase each other from it. Sometimes they were friends, and sometimes they were enemies. It depended on if the day ended in "y" and the phase of the moon and the alignment of the stars.

When Duke ran away from home, Nathan had sought him. The quiet boy had been the only one that had tried to keep the young man in town. He'd tracked him to a small abandoned home, mostly lost to the winter weather and rot. Nathan sometimes brought Duke food, and sometimes just fought with him. One time Duke had gone "walkabout" to use the Australian term and hadn't been there when Nathan came by. He'd been surprised to find out Nathan had been calling hospitals looking for him. After that point, he tried to hang around at least once a week, providing the other boy proof of his continued existence in town. Consequently, Nathan had been the only one he'd told that he'd gotten a job on a freighter that would take him on a long, slow trip to southeast Asia. That night Nathan had nearly beaten him unconscious. Duke had been scared at the rage, and had left the house that night, fearing that Nathan would return. He'd taken his beat-up sleeping bag and slept under one of the warehouses that lined the pier. In the morning he'd found a Chinese-English, a Korean-English and a Japanese-English dictionary by his head.

Nathan had never apologized for the incident, save by providing Duke with the reference material. He'd always been a man of few words. It was these many years later that he realized that Nathan had seen what Duke'd done as a type of betrayal, leaving him behind, mired in the town. Duke had never hidden the fact that he wanted away from the cursed town, and had planned to leave long before his eventual exit. He never realized that he'd be leaving people behind that had cared about him. Nathan had an awful funny way of showing it, usually involving bloody knuckles.

When he first started hearing the disquieting rumors from people that bad things were once again happening in Haven, he came back. He'd made a promise, and vowed silently he'd know the consequences of all promises made in the future. He was surprised to see so much had changed and yet so much stayed the same. The first overture of friendship he'd made to Nathan had been accepted. They'd ended up trying to kill each other that afternoon. Duke realized he should have asked if Nathan's trouble was back before that trip they'd taken. He had forgotten that trying to fight back against a man that felt no pain was a losing proposition. He didn't understand why Nathan had gotten so angry with him over the matter. A dogfish is still a shark, and will act like one all its life. It wasn't like anyone had expected the smuggler to change his habits that late in his life. Except Nathan annoyingly had. Had wanted his not-friend to be better than he was.

He'd been equally shocked when he lay dying on the steps of the lighthouse to find that Nathan was the one that was trying to save him. He hadn't trusted the detective to do much but heckle him as he died. He'd trusted Audrey to find the solution, despite Nathan rather than with Nathan's help, if he were honest. Yet it was Nathan that had been telling him to stay, that had kept him alive when his body shut down. Maybe Nathan had been so angry on the boat not because of Audrey potentially being hurt by Duke's actions, but because Duke himself had been put in a life-threatening situation. No, he thought. Nathan's tirade at the hospital after that incident made the other man's feelings quite well known.

It had been Nathan that had likely kept him from being killed the night Evi died, though. He sometimes resented that the detective knew so much about him, could so accurately predict his actions. OK, so many of his actions were designed to piss off that man, but still, it was embarrassing. Nathan was so perfect, except he wasn't. He was a good man. A man you could trust if your name was anything other than Duke Crocker.

Worse yet he had begun to enjoy working with Audrey and Nathan, looking into the mystery that surrounded the town. At least he had until the night Evi died. Then everything changed, became so much more serious. Audrey's revolution was starting. What had been a bizarre, but enjoyable game and distraction suddenly became fraught with obligations and duties. Then he found out why his father had wanted him to return to town. He wondered what he'd done that his karma was that bad. He wished that things would just go back to the way they were a few months ago, the chided himself for it. Wishes had no bearing on reality. The reality was that he was upset that Nathan was dying, Audrey would have to be sliced and diced to save his life, and there was absolutely nothing Duke could do to help either one of them. Maybe it was time to leave them both to their fates. The reciprocity of friendship and love was painful.

He looked at his reflection in the glass he was polishing. Bland, approachable. Good. He would be so very glad when the shift was over. Maybe he should go home to his boat instead of crashing with Audrey. Damn bastard.

* * *

><p>The Following Day<p>

The bell over the Gull's front door chimed, making Duke look up. There were no patrons still lingering over a late breakfast and it'd be half an hour yet before anyone arrived for lunch, so the noise gave him a mild start. At least until he recognized his guest's uniform, if not face.

"Hi," the mail carrier said uncomfortably. "I'm covering for Meg Haskell, and I am a bit confused..." The man held out a large stack of mail. "Is there an apartment in this building?"

"My girlfriend's, yeah."

"Your girlfriend's?" The man looked relieved. "Do ya suppose she'd be okay with me leaving her mail with you?"

"Pretty sure. As long it is not actually a federal offense."

The mail carrier had to have been new, Duke decided, or he wouldn't have looked so uncertain. "I don't think so..."

Resisting the urge to shake his head, Duke held out his hands for the mail. "Here, in case you cover Meg's route again, let's get you sorted. I'm Duke Crocker, and I own the Grey Gull, so anything addressed to either goes in my box by the door. And Audrey Parker lives upstairs, so that mail goes in the box by her door up the stairs. "

If anything, the mail person looked even more confused. "Do you want me to go put the mail out in the boxes now?" he asked nervously.

_So I can get it later, genius?_ Duke asked silently. "Next time," he said blandly instead, beginning to sort the mail into three piles.

"Oh, okay. Have a nice day," the mail carrier said before fleeing.

"Uh-huh, you too." Duke stopped sorting the mail long enough to turn on the TV for company while he got ready for the lunch rush.

The mail was mostly bills, but one envelope addressed Audrey gave him pause: the return address made it plain that it was the lab she'd sent the second set of DNA samples to. "Moment of truth, huh?" he asked no one.

No sooner did he put the letter on top of Audrey's stack did the TV steal his attention. A perky raven-haired anchor was giving a teaser for the noon news stories. "And in the women's prison an inmate has just died in an attempt to escape." Duke's eyes flew to the screen, but if they'd shown a picture of the attempted escapee, he'd missed it. "More on that story at twelve."

Somehow it came as no surprise when this phone immediately began to ring. He barely needed the glance at the caller's identity for confirmation. _Oh please_, he thought to himself in a rush. "Audrey?"

"Julia's dead," Audrey said without preamble.

"Good," he replied fiercely. "I'm glad it's over."

"They want me to go up there, identify the body."

"You're kidding," he said, a look of disbelief wasted on a phone exchange. "Don't they know who they shot?" He was only assuming that Julia had been shot, but it seemed logical. It wasn't like they bayoneted people who try to escape these days.

Audrey sighed. "It's a formality."

"You want me to go with you?"

"I don't even want to do it myself!" she exclaimed. "But... I don't know. They might let me talk to the people they caught trying to help her escape. That could take a while."

"What could you possibly have to say to them?" he blurted out.

"I want to know about Laverne's cousin for one."

"Oh." The look of mixed anger and anguish on the dispatcher's face floated to the front of his memory. "Do I have time to wait for someone to come and cover me?"

"Probably."

"Meet you at the station?"

She sounded deeply relieved when she said "thanks."

"No problem."

His eyes skimmed over the stacks of mail on the bar as he called someone and cover for him, but he forgot all about it by the time Jaime Hall arrived to take over.

* * *

><p>There was a chill in the air, giving Audrey goose bumps in spite of her sweater. The last time she visited a morgue she'd been fortunate enough not to have to see any bodies, which made her like Dr. Salt better than the doctor currently leading them into the prison's basement. The fact that the prison had deaths often enough to need a morgue wasn't really something she wanted think about either.<p>

As they reach their destination, Doctor Antal spoke for the first time since murmuring apologies about the necessity of dragging them out there. Antal eyed Duke. "Did you know the deceased too, Mr..."

"Crocker. And yes. Julia and I grew up together."

_And then apart_, Audrey thought ruefully. She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

"I'm sorry. I'm always sorry when someone comes to a bad end but the urge to apologize is stronger when it's a fellow doctor. We all like to think the people in our chosen profession are above reproach, but too often people of all stripes prove us wrong."

"No doubt," she said quietly because she knew he expected a response. The infallibility of other cops wasn't something she'd spent much time thinking about. Maybe she was still too new at the job to. That thought made her uneasy, though, despite her authentic past being something only a couple of people knew the truth of. As far as everyone else on the force knew, she'd been an FBI agent before becoming a cop, not someone who hadn't stuck with any job for longer than two years, ever.

They walked through a set of swinging doors and came to a halt in front of a row of metal drawers. "Ready?" Antal asked, looking at them with big sorrowful eyes.

_He must hate this part of his job._ "Yes." Duke's grip on her fingers tightened slightly and she didn't know who he was trying to comfort - her or himself.

When the drawer rolled out, she half expected Julia to sit up and cackle that they had finally fallen for one of her traps. But the dead woman just lay motionless, unbothered by the piece of her skull that was conspicuously missing.

Duke leaned down and whispered into Audrey's ear. "We need to tell Dwight."

She just nodded. The cleaner have lamented not taking a headshot, someone clearly had. He should know.

"This is Julia Carr?" Antal asked by rote.

"It's her," Audrey replied.

"That's Julia," Duke agreed.

"Okay then." To her relief, Antal pushed the drawer back in. "I just need a couple of signatures on a form..." He wandered off, fetching the clipboard from the next room. Audrey felt more than a little relief that the paperwork wasn't stored in the same room as the corpses.

"They're not sure one of the other ones is going to pull through," Antal said, startling her as she tried to hand back the clipboard a couple of minutes later.

"Someone else got injured?" Duke asked.

"Yep. Don't know what they expected to happened during a jailbreak..." the corner broke off, shaking his head.

Considering that the gravely injured party had followed the Driscolls she couldn't seem to summon up any sympathy. "Do you know what hospital they're being kept in?"

"Cumberland."

"Thanks. We're all set?"

Dr. Antal made a shooing motion. "Bye."

As soon as the morgue doors swung closed behind them and separated them from Doctor Antal, Duke gave her an expectant look. "Why were you so interested in knowing which hospital the idiot that tried to help Julia escape is in?"

"As a backup plan," she said, sounding smug. "If I can't talk to the ones being held in jail, it might be a good idea to stop over at Cumberland hospital to see the poor patient."

Once he thought about it, Duke really liked that idea. "You wouldn't have to talk to him as a cop, would you? None of that due process, 'I want my lawyer' BS."

"I'd just be a visitor," she confirmed.

"But would you be a visitor who could threaten to arrest the guy if he doesn't cooperate?"

"You could threaten to arrest him," she remarked, puzzling him. "Anyone could. It's selling the threat that's tricky."

"Okay, do you think you could sell it?"

"They know I'm a cop, and nothing anyone has done since going on the offense in the woods has proven any of them to be overly endowed in the brains department. I think it's possible I could make them believe that not telling me the truth would come across as believable to them."

"Then why don't we just start at the hospital?" he asked eagerly. It seemed like nicely asking another police department if they could speak to the uninjured members of Julia's merry band of scoundrels would be a waste of time in comparison.

She gave him a long look, like he was missing something that should have been blatantly obvious. "Did you talk to Nathan right after the gun went off?"

"Of course I did," he said, feeling mildly indignant. What sort of person would have refused to speak to someone who'd been badly injured?

"How coherent and productive a conversation was it?" she asked, before adding, "on his end."

It was considerate of her to clarify that, but overly generous considering his memories of babbling at Nathan while trying to figure out a way to keep the injured man from bleeding to death before the EMTs arrived. "Uh, not very."

"Exactly."

"I didn't think of that," he admitted. Immediately after being shot probably was a less than ideal time to be interrogated, even if you were sufficiently motivated to answer the questions asked. That was pretty disappointing.

Behind them the double doors swung open, making them both jump. "Oops, sorry," Doctor Antal apologized. Duke gave him a suspicious look, wondering how long he'd been listening to them. Antal's next words confirmed that he'd been eavesdropping, though not for how long. "I thought I overheard you mention someone else being shot?" he said, looking at Audrey for confirmation. She seemed at a loss to deny it and eventually nodded. "Right. Just in case I gave you the wrong impression, Ms. Carr was the only one shot today."

Audrey's brow furrowed, and Duke was sure that he looked confused himself. "Then why are they unsure if one of the people who helped her is going to live?"

Antal didn't look like he felt sorry for the man they were discussing. "The genius went for one of the guards and got tased. I think they probably all did in the end. But this fellow wasn't very healthy to begin with, and he had a heart attack as a result."

"Poor man," Audrey said flatly. Duke was pretty sure that the irony wasn't lost on her. It seemed highly fitting to him that someone who was okay with tasing people as a means to an end should be laid low by one themselves.

"So doc, what does that mean? Could he carry on a conversation?" Duke asked, hoping to find out something useful from the snooping doctor.

"Probably," Antal agreed. "He'll be very weak, but I wouldn't be surprised if he can speak to you."

"Good to know."

Turning to Audrey, the doctor gave her a tight smile. "I was sorry to hear what happened to you. And glad that you've seemed to get through it all right."

"More or less," she agreed.

Antal turned slightly pink as he went on. "I'm not...but you should know that there are those of us who worry about what will happen to those who are." For half a second Duke expected the doctor to tell her that she had friends outside of Haven or confess that his wife or best friend was troubled, but he didn't. Instead Antal just smiled at her. "I hope there will be more justice for what happened to you."

"Me too."

Duke himself wasn't overly concerned with the concept of justice as it pertained to the Driscolls' followers. If they decided to go Jonestown and rid the world of themselves, he'd be quite content with none of them ever seeing the inside of a cell. But somehow he didn't think that'd they'd politely go kill themselves no matter how convenient that'd be for the people they'd been plaguing.

"I'd better get back," the doctor said, going back through the doors.

"So..." Duke prompted once they were alone again.

"We're still going to the station first," she replied, to his disappointment. "But now we've got a better back up plan."

"You're the boss," he said, not prepared for the look of mild disdain she gave his remark.

"Hardly," she muttered.


	45. Who Not What

As soon as she put her car into park, Audrey looked at him and then glanced at the police department where the two non-hospitalized members of Julia's breakout team where being held. He idly wondered if either of the men where the ones that Dwight had dubbed goons 1 and 2, at least until she spoke and demanded his attention. "Hey. Maybe you should stay here?"

His lips quirked as he fought a smile. "What's the matter, sweetie? You afraid to bring me into a strange police station and be allowed to leave with me later? I swear they don't have any warrants out for me in Hinter." Duke could only assume that Hinter was short for the proverbial Hinterlands. It did have a nicer ring to it than Bumfuk.

"Nope." She ducked her head to kiss his cheek, then slipped something into his hand. "You're just staying here to call Dwight. If I'm going to be a while, I'll come back out and get you."

"Okay, but I'm not going to roast in the car at this time of the year," Duke said, fingering the phone's case. It wasn't the pretty princess phone he'd given her the day they'd officially met, and he'd always wondered what had happened to it.

"No, but you might freeze."

"You're not leaving the keys?"

"I think I can trust you with them."

"Damn straight." He looked up at her as she opened the driver's side door. "Do you have Dwight's number?"

"It's programmed into the phone."

"Oh, okay..."

As soon as she disappeared into the police station, he looked down at her phone and found the menu of numbers programmed into it. A not very humble part of him was gratified that his own number was first, Nathan's second, and bakeries and the Haven PD all before Dwight's number. But he frowned when he noticed that Julia and Eleanor's numbers were still in there too, not that Audrey would ever be getting in touch with either of the Carrs again without a Ouija board.

He selected Dwight's number and expected it to ring for quite a while, but Dwight picked up almost immediately. "Audrey?" the cleaner asked cautiously.

Duke snorted. "Sorry to disappoint you, but no. She lent me her phone."

"What can I do for you, Duke?"

"Do? Nothing. I promised Audrey that I'd let you know that Julia tried to escape and was fatally shot for her troubles. So, I guess that's one less mess you have to clean up," Duke said cheerfully.

"That's...that's good to know." Dwight was silent for a moment. "You're sure?"

"We identified the body, so yeah, I'm sure."

"Can I tell Nathan?" Dwight asked abruptly. "I'm at the hospital so..."

"Sure, go ahead. I don't think Audrey will mind you stealing her thunder too much." But as he said it, Duke wondered if she really would. _Too late now._

"Is she happy about this?" Dwight wanted to know.

"About Julia being dead? I doubt happy is the word for it. Relieved, though."

"Maybe that's what I meant."

"Tell Nathan we said hi."

"I will. And thanks for letting me know."

"No problem."

After he hung up, Duke decided to amuse himself by reprogramming some of the stations on her car's radio. She probably won't appreciate his efforts to broaden her musical horizons, but people were inordinately ungrateful for that in general.

* * *

><p>Audrey had barely begun arguing with one of the cops on duty when she heard someone approaching her. It shouldn't have surprised her that it was Duke, but she was anyway. "I thought you were going to wait in the car."<p>

"I was," he said, holding something out to her. After a beat she identified it as her phone. "But you've got a caller who insists on speaking with you right this second."

She took the phone, saying "hello?" as she did.

The voice on the other end seemed hard to place at first, and she realized it was the first time she'd ever heard Laverne's voice over the phone rather than over a radio or in person. "Sweetie, I was afraid that your flake of a boyfriend wasn't going to give you the phone," the other woman was saying.

"He's not..." Audrey started to defend him, but gave up because there wasn't much point in trying to get the dispatcher to change her mind: in all the time she'd known her, Laverne had never changed her mind about anything or anyone. "Why are you calling, Laverne?"

"Eunice is back!" Laverne crowed, obviously delighted. "She wants to speak to you as soon as possible. Tonight, even."

"Uh, okay." She used her free hand to rub her forehead, feeling a headache coming on. "So she just showed up?"

"Thanks to you, yes."

"Thanks to me?" Audrey asked, bewildered.

"You and your boyfriend," Laverne grudgingly admitted.

"I don't..." The pain behind her eyes intensified, and she gave up trying to make sense of the conversation. "Okay. We'll meet her tonight."

"Great, she'll be so pleased. See you tonight, sweetie."

"Uh huh. Bye, Laverne."

"What was that all about?" Duke wanted to know as soon as she turned off her phone.

"We're leaving."

"You can't have already gotten to talk to Julia's..." He glanced at the officers who were trying not to appear like they were listening but clearly were. "...friends."

"I didn't, and I don't need to."

"Why?" he asked, a suspicious edge to his voice.

"Because Eunice came home."

"Okay..." Clearly the confusion she felt was contagious.

"We'll find out more tonight."

"Right."

* * *

><p>Two Hours Later<p>

The worst thing about Maine, Duke decided anew, was that you had to drive forever to get anywhere. At last, though, they finally made it home. It helped that they hadn't made any pit stops on the way back from Hinter.

"Hey, I'll grab us something to eat," Duke said as Audrey put her first foot on the stairs. She paused and nodded. "It won't be as good as my cooking, but at least I won't have to cook." Even as he said it, he toyed with the idea of cooking for them himself anyway. The kitchen staff wouldn't love it, but they were paid to put up with him as part of their jobs, so he didn't think anyone would actually dare to protest - at least not while he was in the Gull.

"You sound pretty impressed with yourself," Audrey said with a slight smirk.

"My mom told me that false modesty is unbecoming," he shot back, but his eyes held amusement. He'd always enjoyed cooking, but it was nice to get compliments from

customers to validate his own assessment of his skills in the kitchen.

"Wise woman."

"She had her moments." As long as you didn't count her atrocious taste in men, Duke thought that his mother was definitely smarter than the average bear. Simon had been fairly clever too, but he'd clearly not been swayed by the advice to use his powers for good rather than evil. Shaking his head slightly, he repressed a sigh. Yet again he was reminded that being smarter than average was no promise of success, though he figured that his father probably considered himself successful in his own way.

"I'll try not to let my disappointment that the meal won't be cooked by you get to me," Audrey told him, completely unaware that his thoughts had detoured into a harsh evaluation of the older Crockers.

"I'm sure the chef will be grateful for your leniency."

"Ha, only if you tell him." She gave him a calculating look. "At least their food will have the virtue of taking less time to get."

"Time is of the essence?"

She glanced down at her phone, and at first he thought she was checking to see if she had gotten any messages when they'd driven through an area with spotty cell coverage, but she said, "I agreed that we'd meet with Laverne and her cousin in two hours. I can think of better ways to spend the time than cooking, can't you?" she asked archly.

"Um...I'll be right back," he promised. The vague temptation he had to shoulder into the kitchen after all and cook himself evaporated when she presented more interesting possibilities. The sooner they ate, the sooner they could have a post-meal treat.

Audrey gave him a long look before smiling and scaling her stairs, leaving him standing there dumbfounded for a moment. After a second he pushed the door open and stepped in.

There were already half a dozen couples, all but two of them of the retiree set, already enjoying a very early dinner. If they hadn't driven straight back from Hinter, he wouldn't be able to stand eating so early, but there were always people ready to eat at 4:30. The older folks he could understand, because they tended to like the quiet that eating early provided, but there were always a few people no older than middle age that joined them. It made him wonder if the people were getting old before their time, and that made him somewhat depressed to think about. The thought of early retirement had always struck him as sad instead of something to aspire to as well - what sort of person wanted to bring on the time when they had less meaningful stuff to do early? Sure, there was traveling the world, but he liked the feeling that knowing you were getting away from it all gave, and didn't think it would feel the same if you had nothing to get away from.

Eventually the man behind the bar, Dale, a kid who had done a stint in the army after high school and claimed to only be working there so he could spend a few months considering what he wanted to study in college, noticed him and waved in greeting. "Hey, what can I do for you, boss?"

"Remind me, what's tonight's special?" He spent one day a month planning out the specials, and couldn't recall off the top of his head. There had been so much going on lately that he wasn't even sure of the date.

"New England boiled dinner," Dale told him.

"Excellent." They'd be cooking the fixings all night, and it wouldn't take long before something was finished. "I'm going to grab a couple servings to go."

"Go ahead and do that now, Jamie said he just finished the latest batch."

"Thanks, Dale." Jamie wasn't quite as good a cook as he was, but the kid had real potential. "Audrey has people coming over in a couple of hours, so I don't have time to cook."

"Hey, it's your place. No one's going to keep you from eating your own food."

"I guess they wouldn't."

Duke detoured into the store room, and spent a couple of minutes scanning the shelves for seldom used take-away boxes. He finally spied a pile, stamped with the Second Chance logo, and wondered how his old friend was getting on. He really should find the time to invite him over, but he didn't seem to have the time for much in the way of free time lately.

Boxes in hand, he backed out of the store room and went to make himself a pest in the kitchen. "Hi," he said, making Jamie look up from poking at still steaming meat. "I'm taking some of this with me."

"No problem." Jamie stepped back and let him ladle meat and veggies into the take away boxes. "I really appreciate you giving me more responsibility," Jamie added.

For a second his mind blanked, but then he understood what Jamie was getting at. "I'm just glad that you were free so I knew that this place would be in good hands."

To Duke's surprise this had him beaming, and it made him wonder what sort of people Jamie had worked for before. "Alex was at work, so I was happy to come in," he said, referring to his significant other. This reminded Duke that he'd never asked if Alex was short for Alexis or Alexander. It didn't much matter to him, so he was happy enough to let Jamie continue to avoid telling pronouns.

"Jake should be in at six to relieve you, though," Duke said, snapping the boxes closed. "Thanks again."

"Any time."

He nodded, but he wondered if that was his way of saying that he wouldn't mind the opportunity for advancement. Jamie wasn't much older than Dale, but he could picture him making a pretty good assistant manager. It was something to think about.

* * *

><p>When Duke entered Audrey's apartment, he wasn't terribly surprised to see her wearing the silk robe he'd bought her a couple of months earlier. Not only was it soft to the touch, it was the same shade of blue as her eyes. He knew that she preferred to let her hair air dry, so it made sense that she'd prefer to shower before dinner and have the extra time for it to dry than after would leave her.<p>

Turning at the sound of him walking across the room, she smiled. "Hey, do you think that dinner can be reheated?"

"Why-" he started to say, but his words dried up completely when she let the robe fall to the floor in a graceful heap.

"Because I'm not sure I can be." Her eyes had grown darker and suggestive. "At least not before out visitors- hehe," she broke off giggling as he crossed the space between them in six steps and wrapped his hands around her waist. Behind them the boxes threatened to fall from where he'd dropped them, but they didn't.

"Yes, dinner will reheat," he said, mouth close to her ear.

"Good," she replied, pulling him towards her bed.

XxX

In deference to Audrey's unexpected plans for them, she deigned to use a hair dryer for once, so they were both dry and clothed as well as fed before anyone knocked on the door. They'd even had time to wash the dishes and silverware before their guests arrived.

When she opened the door, Audrey was mildly surprised that the woman standing there with Laverne didn't look a thing like her. Eunice was tall and solidly built, making Audrey think briefly of the Lumberjack song that one of the kids in her neighborhood growing up had been in love with. She didn't dare ask if the woman worked outdoors, though.

"Hi, lamb, this is Eunice," Laverne said, though she couldn't possibly think that she hadn't already realized that. Turning her head slightly, she said, "Eunice, Audrey." Then she looked past Audrey, up at Duke who had just joined her at the door. "And her beau, Duke."

"Nice to meet you both," Eunice said, her voice much more feminine that Audrey had expected. She tried not to let her thoughts show.

"Nice to meet you too," Duke said. He used a hand to prod Audrey away from the door so the other women could step in. But only Eunice made an immediate move to.

Laverne shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably. Eventually she said, "Well, Eunice, I'll leave you to this. I'm going to go down stairs and have myself a drink or two because you're driving tonight."

Eunice grimaced briefly at her cousin, making Audrey wonder which bothered her more: being abandoned, or being volunteered for designated driver duty. "Sure."

Laverne gave a sardonic wave of her hand before backing out the door.

Eunice looked at a loss for a moment, and it occurred to Audrey that she wasn't being the most gracious host. "Why don't we sit at the kitchen table?" she suggested.

Both Duke and Eunice took seats and she found herself grateful that there weren't newspapers or shopping bags piled on normally unused chairs like there often was: there were too few occasions for more than two people to sit there.

"So your cousin said something particularly confusing," she started to say, giving Duke a look to keep him from suggesting that Laverne's statements were often confusing to some degree. "She seems to be under the impression that Duke and I are somehow responsible for you being back in Haven."

"You are," Eunice exclaimed, as if this was blindingly obvious.

"Um...how?" Duke asked as blankly as she felt. "We've never seen before in our lives."

"But I've seen you," Eunice explained. Fortunately her gaze was on a knickknack in the kitchen so she completely missed Duke mouthing 'creepy' at her.

"When?" Audrey asked, not daring to look at her boyfriend and encourage more silent commentary.

Instead of immediately providing an illuminating answer, Eunice said, "Let me back up a bit."

"Okay..."

"Laverne said you know the Glendowers," Eunice said, and they nodded. "I live out by them and mostly keep to myself. Most people leave us be, but Reverend Driscoll began to pay attention to them and me too. It made me uncomfortable, especially when I've always tried to blend into the background, but I wasn't as cautious as I should have been. I should have told the police department that I was being harassed, or maybe invested in a security system, but...I didn't think of either of these things until it was too late."

"Too late?" Duke asked when her explanation fell off abruptly.

Signing, Eunice shifted in her chair. "I expect it was the same as with you, Audrey. I opened the door when someone on the other side said that I had a telegram, and got tased. When I came to, I was the Rev's prisoner."

"Banana-gram?" Duke asked, looking horrified. She really did need to ask him how a person could be afraid of a specific type of fruit.

Audrey frowned, dragging her thoughts back to the topic at hand. The Rev wasn't shy about wanting to murder troubled people, but he hadn't been in the business of kidnapping them that she knew of. That was more of Julia's bag. "He kidnapped you?"

"And then kept me," Eunice nodded. "For what felt like forever."

"Where?"

"I'm not sure where at first," the older woman confessed. "We had to get there by boat-"

To her surprise, Duke bolted half way out of his chair. "You were kept in a big wooden building out in the middle of nowhere? Out in the woods."

"Yes, how did-"

"It's you!" he exclaimed, pointing a finger at Eunice.

"Duke?" Audrey asked, worried. She had no idea what he was talking about, and that bothered her.

He whipped his head around, looking at her. "Her trouble screws with people's memories," he said, tone accusatory. "The building she was kept in, that was the one the other Audrey found."

Eunice's face crumpled, and for a moment Audrey worried that she was going to cry. "It's true, my trouble effects memory."

"So they kept you as what, a guard dog so no one found their bat cave?" Duke asked, tone no longer quite as outraged.

Calming down, she agreed with him. "Pretty much."

"But the building disappeared," Duke said, sounding confused. "There was just a square of dead grass where the GPS coordinates led to."

"I was just supposed to be a precaution. They didn't think that anyone was really going to stumble across. And I don't think people really believed that my trouble was as...volatile as it is. After that they began to rethink the wisdom of both keeping their meetings in town, and what they wanted with me."

"I'm surprised that they didn't just kill you when they realized what a threat someone with your capabilities poses," Audrey said softly.

"I'd hoped that they'd be afraid of me and let me go, but that didn't happen either," Eunice replied, tone rueful. "So I suppose I should be grateful that they considered me more valuable than dangerous."

"So they just up and moved?" Audrey asked, wondering if the move came before or after she put the Rev down.

"Me, and the location of their meetings? Yes. But they continued to cause trouble in Haven that I've heard of."

"That's for damn sure," Duke muttered.

"So they moved you to that building in East Millinocket?" Audrey asked, wanting clarification. It still was hard for her to wrap her head around the apparent fact that the building they had taken shelter in hadn't caused her to lose her memory, but the woman before her had.

"Yes."

"If they had you for months why didn't you just cause them to lose their memories too?" Duke demanded to know. Audrey couldn't blame him for being frustrated, as much as she was loath to blame victims herself. "Then you could have just left whenever you wanted to."

"Julia's a doctor," Eunice said patiently, but that didn't immediately make them understand any better. "The thing is, my trouble is activated by stress. Fear, anger, whatever sort of mental states that lead to my blood pressure spiking. When they decided not to simply put me down like a vicious dog, Julia had them give me beta blockers, like you would someone with a lot of anxiety."

"So they chemically muzzled you, basically."

"Exactly. In a way I'm actually grateful for that, because now I know how I can make sure I never hurt anyone else."

"Do you have any control over it?" Duke wanted to know.

"Some," she agreed. "But the effects are always more devastating when I do it by accident." As Eunice said this, Audrey realized something, but she didn't blurt it out. "And sometimes I give people memories instead of take them."

"But while it's nice to learn more about how you ended up the Driscoll's security system, that doesn't at all explain how it is that you think we're responsible for you getting free," he pointed out. "Did they decide to let you go because Julia got killed trying to escape from jail?"

"No, I've been free for a while now," Eunice told him.

"Then I'm really confused as to how you think we're remotely responsible."

Audrey glanced over at him, wondering why he hadn't come to the same conclusion as she had. "Duke, you told me that when I collapsed you worried that you'd seen movement in the back of that building."

"So?"

Turning to Eunice instead, she said, "He'd seen you. You had to have been there or I wouldn't have lost my memory, and he wouldn't have remembered a pivotal day from his childhood after we were there."

Eunice nodded. "Yes, I was there. I was able to escape through the door you'd left open. No one thought about me in the confusion, and I was able to get away before anyone noticed. I saw them looking for you, but they never noticed me, fortunately, but those people wouldn't have noticed anyone they weren't told to look for."

"But," Duke started but he trailed off, looking baffled. "But if they had you on drugs to keep you from making them forget themselves too, how did you manage to erase Audrey's memory, even if you were there that day?"

"Oh, that," Eunice said, looking pleased. "Because they wanted me to be able to make people forget when they needed me to, Julia kept me on as low a dose of the beta blockers as she thought would be effective. So, when they decided to grab you-" She pointed at Audrey. "-they forgot about me for a while. I went days without anyone remembering to dose me."

"And they seemed so good with details," Duke said sourly.

Her face suddenly looked devastated. "I was really sorry when I realized that it was the two of you who'd come in the building that afternoon, and not one of those idiots. I'm so sorry that my trouble caused you such a problem," she added sorrowfully, looking Audrey in the eye.

Audrey turned her face. "It's okay."

"No, it's not," Eunice said firmly. "That's why I snuck into the hospital after I heard what happened to you."

They both blinked at her, surprised. "You've been in Haven since Audrey was in the hospital?" Duke asked at the same time Audrey said "You were the person who was in my hospital room the night before I got my memory back?" She'd long since concluded that she'd imagined that someone had been there that night.

"Yes to both," Eunice confirmed. "I made the nurses forget that they'd seen me walking towards Audrey's room so I get close enough to fix her memory. I did the same thing on the way out, and I don't feel bad about it because we're talking about a total of ninety seconds they don't recall properly. That's a small price to pay for making sure that Audrey could have her whole life worth of memories back." The look on her face was fierce, as if she expected to be challenged for that belief.

Audrey wasn't about to challenge her. She was grateful that she'd gotten her memories back, even if the ones she hadn't mourned the loss of were less welcomed. "Thank you."

"Oh, honey, it's the least I could do," Eunice said, reminding them of her cousin for the first time. "I couldn't leave you like that!"

Duke cocked his head. "What about the other Audrey?"

"What?"

"I only knew that you were in another building because another woman found you, and she ended up without her memory too. We sent her home to her fiancé, and as far as I know she still hasn't gotten better."

"Sent her where?" Eunice demanded to know. "Somewhere here in Haven?"

"No, she was from Boston," Audrey told her. "Or at least she was assigned to the bureau there."

"Could you bring me to her?" Eunice asked, tone urgent. "Please?"

Audrey traded a look with Duke. She didn't really feel like going to Boston, especially when she was so worried about Nathan's health, but what sort of monster would refuse to bring the only woman who could restore memory to the other Audrey? "Yes..." she reluctantly agreed, reminding herself that they could get to Boston and back in a day, and the surgery wasn't for three.

"Soon?"

Duke looked like he was going to protest, but in the end he gave in as easily as she had. "Fine, we can go tomorrow."

"Oh, thank you." She looked relieved. "I never even saw her, so I didn't know who it was that was wandering around out there without their memory because of me. They immediately grabbed me and brought me somewhere else that day, or I wouldn't have even known that I'd hurt anyone. I've felt guilty about that for months...By this point I thought I was going to have to live with this for the rest of my life because the few of the Driscolls' followers who were willing to talk to me about it didn't know who the woman even was."

"We want her to be better," Audrey said with conviction she was trying hard to feel more thoroughly. In the back of her mind she'd held onto the hope that the other woman named Audrey Parker would have spontaneously recovered her memories, and after long enough passed it became increasingly awkward to keep in touch with the other woman's fiancé to find out how she was doing. "We're happy to assist you fixing her."

She avoided Duke's eyes because she knew that he'd be able to read her. It wasn't that she didn't want to help, it was that she was worried that Nathan would take another turn for the worse while they were gone.

Perhaps sensing her discomfort, Duke steered the conversation in a new direction. "If we accidentally freed you, and you've been in Haven for days, why didn't you tell Laverne that you were okay? She's been frantic about you."

"I've been camping out," Eunice admitted. "Until I heard that Julia was dead, I was afraid to reveal myself and end back up in their clutches again."

This had Audrey thinking of mustached cartoon villains trying helpless maidens to railroad tracks. Neither Laverne or Eunice were built like your typical cartoon victim, though.

Leaning across the table, Duke gave her an intent look. "But you feel safe now?"

"Safe enough," Eunice allowed.

"So you don't think that anyone else is going to take up the torch now that Julia is gone?" he pressed.

Eunice gave an unladylike snort. "Those people are born followers. After months in their presence I can say with confidence that they're not going to do anything without someone telling them to."

It was hard not to sag in relief. Ever since she'd seen the man standing in her doorway with a taser, she'd been afraid that the war against the troubled would never end, and she'd be defending them until the end of her days, which at that moment seemed eminent.

"Well," Eunice said, starting to stand up. "I'd better get home if we're going to Boston tomorrow."

"What's your address?" Duke wanted to know. Audrey slid the pad on the table for grocery lists across the table for it. "We'll pick you up."

"Thanks, Love."

Eunice didn't notice what he mouthed to Audrey that time, either.

* * *

><p>An hour or so after Eunice left, Duke noticed that Audrey looked terribly wistful. She'd left the couch with a stated purpose of going out to the deck to bring in her newly acquired bird feeder before it could be pounced on by raccoons or bears, but he'd been vaguely aware that she'd been gone too long for just that and wondered what else had happened. "You okay?"<p>

She gave a quick shake of her head. "I called Nathan's room when I was outside."

"He's not worse, is he?" Duke asked, beginning to feel alarmed. It seemed like every time they got an update on the status of Nathan's health, it was to hear that he was a little worse than the time before.

"No. He'd been taken away for a test, so I actually talked to Jess. She thinks he's getting better."

That was nice, but he knew that Jess didn't have any sort of medical degree, so he hardly considered her opinion worth more than any other layperson's. "But? You don't have that look on your face because he's doing better."

"I miss him," she admitted. Duke held out his arms, and she went to sit with him. Her body felt pleasantly warm pressed up against him, and he threw the plaid throw from the couch over them for good measure. There was a chill in the air that the heat was having trouble combating. "It feels like it's been forever since I've seen him, or even talked to him."

"I know." If Duke had found the regular visiting hours at the hospital difficult, then the ones for the ICU were draconic. Visitors were only allowed two hours a day, and only if there were under an arbitrary number of people total visiting patients. He'd been deeply tempted to strangle an old man visiting his comatose wife because he seemed to be there every single time they'd tried to get Audrey in to see Nathan. "I wonder if he's lonely."

"I think he's luckier than the other patients because Jess gets to see him when it's not visiting hours."

For a moment he imagined what would happen if someone tried to tell Jess that she could only see him two hours a day. From the way she'd slapped Nathan back during Fall Fest, it wasn't too much of a stretch to imagine a cat fight. Actually, he didn't think she'd resort to violence, but that didn't keep him from amusing himself by imagining it. "That's true." When this didn't manage to erase any of the misery on her face, he added, "And he sleeps a lot. He probably doesn't notice that there's no one around a lot of the time."

"You don't think he's unaware that I haven't seen him once?"

That thought was even more far-fetched than picturing Jess laying the smack down on nurses, so he couldn't lie to her. "I think he realizes that you weren't in the position of visiting him when he was in a regular room, and how hard it is to get in to see him now."

Her eyes widened in alarm, making him wonder how he'd managed to stick his foot in his mouth this time. "Does he know that I got my memory back?"

"Uh, I can't imagine that Jess has let that escape her mind. He knows."

"Oh." She relaxed a little. "Do you think he's really getting better like Jess said?"

He hoped so, but this wasn't the time for doubt. "She wouldn't have told you that if she didn't have more than a hunch to go on." _Please please_.

"Good."

She spent the rest of the night being fairly quiet, but she had stopped looking so guilty, so he didn't make an issue of it. Besides, he had an idea.

* * *

><p><em>an: Any usually quiet readers have something to say? C'mon, I can't be the only one to cheerlead __**Faerax**__ as works on the very end of the story =) Nor the only one who'd like to see this all written/posted before season 3 premieres… _


	46. A Few Small Repairs

Nathan dreamed of his mother. He could hear her humming in the darkness that surrounded him. He missed hearing her most when she died. The woman couldn't carry a tune in a bucket, something that her son inherited, but that didn't stop her from attempting to sing and hum as she did her housework. He couldn't figure out if she was humming "Amazing Grace" or Aerosmith's "Love in an Elevator." It didn't matter, really. He was tired, and his mother was coming back for him.

He'd forgotten what it was not to be nauseous. Forgotten what living without a constant pain in his abdomen was like. Was slowly forgetting why it was worth it to stick around. Duke would take care of Audrey. Hell, if he was honest he was jealous of the love the two of them found. He'd hoped to have something like that with Jess, but she'd already left him once, and likely would do so again because of this. She deserved to live a life where she wasn't afraid, something he couldn't offer her while the Troubles were still in effect.

He was moderately surprised, as he looked around the dreamscape, that while he could hear his mother, he couldn't see here. There was no evidence of the Chief at all. All around him was a formless gray, like the thick fogs that sometimes rolled off the ocean. In the distance he could see shapes and shadows, some familiar and some not so familiar. Through the haze he found himself in he could occasionally feel the touch of a hand, but it was distant, far away, and the sensation was getting more and more distant with time.

Nathan was content to drift. He knew with absolute certainty that Duke and Audrey could keep the town together, provided Dwight was around to help them. He smiled inwardly, the only way he could now, imagining Dwight strolling up and announcing himself as the new and improved Nathan Wournos. Less talkative and more intimidating.

He would miss them though, miss them all terribly. Audrey had always made him smile. A romance hadn't worked out, yet they still had something as strong, perhaps even stronger in their friendship. She had to be one of the most fearless people he'd ever met. He just hoped Duke was up to the task of watching out for her. It was a full time job.

Dwight would keep a weather eye on both them, and Jess, he imagined. The man had a course exterior but a kind heart. Nathan had only wished he'd been able to help the older man find his daughter when she had gone missing. But he didn't regret that he had seemed to "adopt" the three of them. Still, he sort of wished he knew how or even if Dwight would be able to convince Haven's resident pirate to fall into line. It would take work. Dwight should never have attacked Duke.

The humming faded briefly, then came back. A new tune or the same one, it really didn't matter.

Nathan tried to shift himself, but wasn't sure if he was successful or not. His body was so far away. He had to tell Dwight how to handle Duke. The bastard was too smart for his own good. Dealing with him was like getting pecked to death by a duck. He supposed that the big man would have to figure it out on his own. Nathan didn't think he'd be able to do anything as instructive a groan before the end came, never mind write a manual and give lessons on the care of one Duke Crocker and When To Stop His Bullshit, When To Ignore His Bullshit, And When to Encourage His Bullshit.

He wondered how long it would take Duke to figure out he wouldn't run out on Audrey. He'd think of it, but convince himself to stay. Nathan knew enough now to know that Duke truly did love Audrey. It was the only reason that it was becoming more and more palatable to go and find the source of the distant humming. He missed his Mom. Things were always better when she was around. Hell, Duke and himself were poster children for why children should have two parents.

Still, it wasn't so bad here. Maybe he'd stay around a little while longer. It wasn't like anything was getting any worse. His mom had been waiting this long, she wouldn't mind a few more moments. He was hoping to see his Dad. After all, weren't your loved ones supposed to come for you at the end? He didn't need to go looking for them. They'd be here soon enough. It would be good to see them again.

* * *

><p>Jess sat her quiet vigil, looking for a sign of life and finding none. It had been a long night, and nothing seemed to change. Maybe she was too late, and Nathan was gone, leaving only his body behind.<p>

She'd tried arguing with God, but as per normal conversations with deities, there didn't seem to be a response.

She'd tried arguing with Nathan. He wouldn't respond to her diatribe.

At 4:11 a.m. Duke had quietly crept into the hospital and into Nathan's room. He'd only stayed for five minutes. She still laughed at his suggestion for what she needed to tell Nathan to get him to come back. He pointed out that it wouldn't work if he said it.

They had spoken softly about nothing for a few moments until Jess had chased the tired man out, citing that Dwight was asleep in the nurse's lounge and wasn't available to haul his carcass down stairs when he collapsed again, which he looked like he could be considering. She needed to tell Audrey that her charge had gone home to his boat, but thought the other woman wouldn't appreciate being woken up. Not to mention that Duke was so impulsive she might call and wake Audrey only to have her ask what she meant given that Duke was in bed beside her.

That had been three hours ago. Nothing else seemed to work, so she decided to try out Duke's idea. She leaned close to the somnolent man's ear and whispered quietly. She had 15 minutes before she needed to start her day. Thankfully she only had to chase paperwork today.

* * *

><p>Nathan heard quiet words, spoken in a soft French-Canadian accent in his fog. His first thought was "Oh Shit."<p>

* * *

><p>The hall outside Nathan's room was the cleanest it had been in years courtesy of the janitor's mopping efforts. If it got any more clean, the nurses would have to convince the doctors to start performing surgery there rather than in the OR.<p>

The nurses of the ICU ward were accustomed to people's odd habits of dealing with stress. Apparently the town janitor dealt with it by obsessively mopping the floor outside the detective's room. They had watched a veritable parade of people meander by at all hours. They really were going to have to do something about enforcing visiting hours one of these days. Through it all their patient slept serenely, seemingly unaware that half the town either had tried to visit him, and the other half had stopped by. Only a few though got behind the glass doors.

When the one of the hospital's grief counselors left the attending nurse noticed the police officer's heart beat a bit more regularly. By the time she settled herself back in for another few hours of watching, and the janitor had once again mopped the hallway, the detective's blood work was much better, and he was showing every sign of improving.

* * *

><p>That Morning<p>

Nathan had accused her of lacking perspective when it came to the troubled, so Audrey thought he'd probably think that the fact that she was pissed at Eunice was a step forward. It was the older woman's fault that they were crammed into a subway car that managed to be overheated despite being November. There were far more people than seats, so they'd allowed Eunice to sit while they hung onto the bars strewn throughout the car and tried not to fall over when the driver occasionally slammed to a halt and mumbled about the current stop. Even with the other Audrey's memories of subway travel still in her head, Audrey was having trouble keeping track of where they were. A couple of times she only realized what the droning voice had said when the car moved far enough to let her see signs nailed to the dirty cement walls they were slowly chugging past. This outing had none of the charm of the day she'd brought Duke into the city.

It was all Eunice's fault that they were traveling Boston by subway rather than in her car or Duke's truck. Earlier in the day they'd swung by her house and chatted about the trip into Boston. They'd been confused when she handed them tickets for the DownEaster train. Their confusion dissolved when she explained that if there was one thing she couldn't cope with about Boston, it was driving over the Tobin bridges. Audrey did feel some sympathy for that because that bridge often got a shout out when it came to webpages describing fear of heights. It wasn't that the Tobin was so very high, because there are many bridges in the US that are much much higher, but it had to do with the fact that all the separated the drivers from a free-fall was a wall scarcely higher than your standard issue jersey barrier. With the reputation that Boston drivers had, it wasn't very hard at all to imagine being run into and forced over the side. All of this didn't mean that she and Duke weren't annoyed as hell that they'd had to forgo their own transportation to mollycoddle the woman's fear.

A hand closed over her shoulder and she almost screamed before she realized that it was Duke rather than a gropy stranger. Her dismay must have telegraphed clearly because he muttered "oops, sorry," before asking "are you sure you know where we're going? Did you spend a lot of time in this part of Boston growing up?"

He still couldn't read a subway map worth a damn, she knew. The other Audrey had a friend who had gone to BU for two years before anyone trusted her to go on the subway on her own and reach the destination on the first time, but she thought he'd get the hang of it without that much practice. She hoped. Otherwise she'd be navigator every single time they went to Boston. "Never, actually. But I'm sure. Audrey lived in Boston too, you know? She had lots of memories of how to get around this particular area." Nothing they'd seen so far recommended the area, so it was little wonder she'd never found herself there before she'd gone to Haven.

"But you don't have any memories of her fiancé, though, do you?" His tone seemed odd to her at first, at least until she identified a note of jealousy. He didn't really think she had any intimate memories of another woman's suitor and had kept them to herself, did he?

"I don't," she assured him. Although she did wonder why she hadn't remembered him, considering a comparison of notes with the other Audrey Parker had revealed that the memories she'd been given were a fairly complete set otherwise. Maybe whoever had replaced her memory hadn't wanted her to have believed that she was in love with a person who would have drawn her away from Haven.

"Then how do you know where he lives?" Duke was beginning to sound petulant.

"Because I remember the road he lives on, if not him himself. I'm betting that she met him in a little cafe she enjoyed spending time in," Audrey explained, trying to be patient. "Because she was there a lot."

"All right..." he mumbled, than he stood up straighter and glared down at Eunice. "Did you do it?"

"Did I do what?" she asked, eyes dismayed at his harsh tone.

Duke waved one hand at Audrey - then stumbled when the car jerked, and quickly returned it to the pole in front of him. "What happened to her, with the memory swapping. Was that you? We know you can do..." He noticed that his question had drawn the attention of a handful of bored passengers. "...similar things."

Eunice was obviously more aware of how his question sounded to others than he himself was. Sounding bored, she said, "I can remove or restore faulty data. I'm not into data migrations."

The other passengers looked away, having apparently concluded that she was talking about being in tech support for some sort of business. Duke didn't want to let the topic go, though. "If not you, who?"

Eunice shrugged. "I have no idea."

This answer elicited a frustrated sigh. Which is why it came as such a relief when Audrey was finally able to announce as the subway slowed to a stop. "Get out. This is our stop."

Elbowing their way past people trying to get on who weren't smart enough to let people off first so there was room for them, they piled out into the station. After three flights of stairs they broke out into the clouded daylight. Being on a subway was strange that way Audrey thought: you had no idea at all what the weather might be doing while you were trapped beneath the earth.

"Now what?" Duke asked, sounding a little less peevish.

Audrey pointed. "Three blocks that way."

"I really think we should call first," Eunice said fretfully.

"No," Audrey and Duke said in a flat unison. This was the fourth time that she'd brought that possibility up, and they were sick of explaining that asking to see the other Audrey would only set them up for the possibility that Brad might refuse to let her see them. An ambush was much better a bet.

* * *

><p>When they knocked on Brad's door, he gave them blank stare that slowly melted into one of faint recognition just before Duke could wonder if memory wiping was contagious. "We've met, haven't we?" he eventually asked, making no move to open the door wide enough to let them in.<p>

"We met in Haven," Audrey said with a brittle smile. It made Duke wonder if she was worried that Brad was going to slam the door in their faces. He was.

Fortunately, Brad just gave them a tight smile instead. "Oh, you're the ones who knew Audrey when she went missing."

This made Duke flinch and he prayed that the other man didn't notice. Of course it seemed to him like his Audrey had gone missing. She obviously hadn't been able to tell him that she'd gone to Haven Maine to investigate reports that someone had stolen her identity. It made him wonder how impulsive that trip had been - had she gone off without even telling him she'd be leaving at all? He could see how that could have happened, Haven was a daytrip from Boston, so she probably thought she'd have the issue licked within a day. But why hadn't she called him before her memory was wiped? That's none of my business, he told himself firmly, she had her reasons.

"Um, yup," Audrey said artlessly. "I actually was the one who called you when she had her, uh, accident."

It wasn't an accident, Duke protested internally. Nothing had happened to brunette Audrey, at least not physically. It's more like being hexed.

"Right. What can I do for you?" Brad asked, voice now wary.

"I was hoping we could see Audrey," she said, sounding a little more perky. "See how she is."

"I don't know..." His hand was on the door and he was a second from shutting them out when a voice called his name. He spun, moving the door involuntarily, opening it enough so that they could see the woman who had called out to him.

And then she pushed the door open even more. "Oh, it's you," she said, tone unreadable.

"How have you been?" Audrey asked tentatively.

The other woman shrugged.

"We were hoping that we could go for coffee," Audrey said, and Duke wondered if anyone else could hear the hint of nervousness that he could. "There's this little cafe down the street..."

The FBI agent's face finally broke into a smile. Turning back to Brad, she asked eagerly, "Oh, can I?"

Duke expected him to shut this request down hard, but he returned her smile, but not as big. "You know your way there and back. Do what you want."

"Aren't you coming too?" she asked, sounding a little disappointed.

Please say no, Duke willed the other man. He had nothing against him, he just didn't want him along asking questions.

"Sorry, babe. I've got a lot of paperwork to catch up on. You have fun with...your friends."

"Okay," she kissed his cheek and Duke thought he detected a flinch from Brad.

The Audrey took the lead, both knowing exactly where they were going. Duke hung back, falling into step beside Eunice. Glancing at her he asked, is it going to happen right away?"

She shook her head. "It'll take hours, maybe not until tomorrow morning. And won't that be a nice way to wake up!"

"But I remembered immediately," Duke protested. "I remembered the day I'd forgotten within in seconds of going into the same building as you." He couldn't bring himself to explain that the day in question was the first time he'd been in serious danger of losing his life. It was hard enough to talk to Audrey about it, never mind a woman he'd only met the day before.

Eunice gave him a look like he was a slow child. "That was a single day. We're talking about more than a quarter of a century of days, Duke. The brain can't process that all in an instant."

"Oh, that makes sense."

* * *

><p>They'd already gotten their orders before the other Audrey paid Eunice any attention. Giving her a curious look, she asked, "Do I know you too?"<p>

Eunice shook her head. "No, these nice kids let me tag along with them so I could run an errand here in the city," Eunice explained.

"That's nice of them," she offered. Looking at Audrey and Duke she added, "I do remember that much about you, being nice after my accident."

"I'm always nice," Duke declared, catching his girlfriend's eye. She was already biting her lip to keep from laughing. "Nicest guy in Haven, everyone says. They tried to give me a plaque, but I turned it down."

"Duke-"

"No, it's okay. My memory doesn't work but I can still recognize a joke." Distracted, she didn't seem to notice when Eunice took a seat next to her.

"See? She can take a joke."

"Great..."

"So, you're a cop, right?" Audrey two asked. "How are things going?"

"Okay." There was no way that she was going to burden the other woman with whining about how badly things had gone since she left. There wasn't anything she could do to help, so there was no sense in distressing her.

"They put me on leave," the other Audrey told them. "You can't fight crime when you don't remember your training. Or your social security number, or your parents' address...but when I get better, I'm going to go back."

"I'm sure that'll happen sooner than later," Audrey said in the tone of someone trying to be vaguely assuring rather than someone who knew something. She wanted to tell the other woman that all would be well very soon, but she wasn't sure she believed that entirely. Sure, Eunice had restored her memory, but that had been after days, not months, had passed. She hoped more than anything that the other Audrey would wake up the following morning with her memory fully restored, but she wouldn't believe it until she heard it for herself from the other woman's mouth.

This thought reminded her of something she meant to do. Opening her purse, she pulled out her wallet and fished in it until she came up with a business card. "Here. You were really helpful to us before...anyway, if you find that you need a reference in order to get back in the bureau once your memory is better, given them my name and address. I'll vouch for you."

"Oh, you were FBI once too," she replied, tucking the card into her pocket.

"Right."

Audrey wondered how long Eunice needed to help the other woman. She didn't want to rush her and risk her not being able to do it, but it had begun to snow heavily, and she didn't like it.

"Thanks for this. They claim that I'll be just fine returning, but you must know how it is."

"Sure." But only because one of the other woman's friends had to struggle to return after a car accident. And that had only been because the man had broken his back, not lost his mind.

When she finally got sick of watching Duke bending coffee stirrers twenty minutes later, she began to give Eunice pointed looks...which she ignored for another half an hour. Audrey had almost made up her mind that she was going to dart across to the book store and find something less annoying for Duke to toy with when Eunice finally said, "Oh dear, look at the time. I hate to cut this short but if we don't get going I'm not going to get that thing I need."

"And you came all the way to Boston for it," Audrey two said sympathetically. "Brad's probably wondering if something happened to me too, by now."

"We'll walk you back to your apartment," Duke declared, which Audrey had already privately predicted he would. As much as he liked to give off the air of being a city boy, he still thought that Boston was a dangerous enough place that he wouldn't have wanted any woman to walk home alone, let alone one as vulnerable as the other Audrey.

"Thanks."

The four of them headed back to Audrey and Brad's apartment, and she noticed Brad looking out the window when they got nearer. Brad was a good guy, she decided, overturning her annoyance at him from earlier. He'd put up with a lot over the past few months, letting the other Audrey lean hard on him. This thought made her wish even harder that the other woman's memory would return shortly - she wasn't the only one who deserved that.

Just before they parted, the other Audrey looked at Duke. "I just remembered a dream I had that you must have been in. I guess that's not surprising considering that you found me after my accident."

"What happened in the dream?" Duke asked cautiously.

The other woman shook her head. "We were talking about how she and I have the same name, and you wanted to know if we had the same taste in men. That's pretty silly, but I thought of it again just now."

"Huh."

Audrey hugged the other woman and told her that she could use the information on her business card to keep in touch even about things that weren't related to her getting her job back. Brad looked relieved when they left, and oddly, so did Duke.

"What's wrong?" she asked, threading her arm through his.

"Nothing's wrong," he said abruptly. Glancing over at Eunice he added, "I think it could be right."

"I don't follow."

"That dream she thought of? It wasn't a dream. It was part of a conversation we had when I was bringing her out to that island."

Audrey raised her eyebrows. "The two of you discussed my taste in men?"

"Hey, I just wanted to make sure there wasn't a Brad you were in love with too."

"That would have been awkward."

"Yeah."

"I meant for Audrey and me. If I was in love with a Brad too, it would have been her Brad."

"I'm so pleased," Eunice said. They both looked at her.

"You're pleased that she wasn't in love with the other Audrey's fiancé? I know why I am, but-"

"Not that," she said, glaring at Duke. "I'm pleased she's getting her memories back."

"Oh, of course. That's great too."

An insectile buzzing made Duke look around. Eventually he seemed to catch on that it was Audrey's phone on vibrate because he started to ask, "Is that a phone in your pocket or are you-" but he shut up when she finally fished it out of her pocket.

Audrey read the text and suddenly felt faint with relief. She must have stumbled because Duke took her arm rather more firmly and said, "What? What is it?"

"A text from Jess." She held up the screen so he could see it, but she wasn't steady enough for him to. "Nathan's not yellow any more," she said when she realized that her hands were shaking. "Stark said his liver function is improving a lot."

"So does that mean-"

"'Nathan probably won't need a liver transplant,'" Audrey read aloud. "Oh my God."

"That's fantastic!" Duke exclaimed, giving her a tight hug.

She gave him a crooked smile. "Are you saying you're not disappointed I won't be getting another sexy scar?"

"Uh, no. Scars are only sexy on men."

Audrey pouted. "So my foot scar isn't sexy."

"I've never been a big admirer of feet, sorry to say."

Eunice apparently was bored of listening to them because she finally said, "I'm so glad that young Nathan is on the mend."

"Young?" Duke objected. "He's not young. He's three months older than me."

"And you are both adorable young men," Eunice told him with a motherly look that had him rolling his eyes.

"As soon as we get back, we need to see him. I don't care if we get thrown out of the hospital for it, but I need to see him now," Audrey said, unaware of the excited gleam in her own eyes.

"Why Officer Parker, are you threatening civil disobedience?" Duke asked in mock disbelief.

"I think so."

"Let me come with you," Eunice surprised them both by saying. "I can, uh, run interference if necessary."

"Can you make them think they should refund the fee they took from me for my brief stay? Those lab fees were ridiculous and the nurse already knew what was wrong with me."

"Yeah, that's practically highway robbery," Audrey agreed.

"Thanks-" He narrowed his eyes at her. "Are you making fun of me?"

"No, of course not."

"Audrey-"

"Now children," Eunice said, but her look was amused.

Their good cheer was abruptly murdered in the street when a group of people wandered by complaining bitterly about how all the outbound trains had been cancelled because of the heavy snow.

"We'll have to spend the night," Eunice announced, wilting when they both glared at her.

* * *

><p>Later<p>

Audrey wasn't pleased to be spending an extra night in the city. It brought up too many memories she'd rather forget; a life she had chosen not to live anymore now that she remembered it existed. The snow was coming down thickly now, a curtain of white around her and Duke. As it grew darker and the halogen lights flickered on, the snow turned an unappealing orange.

Duke led her around the city, seemingly looking for something. Audrey wanted to head to the hotel district and pray that they could get a room. When she had voiced her demands, loudly, he had just smiled, taken her by the hand, and led her through the city streets. He had been generally heading in the direction of the harbor, she realized. Great, now he decides to go sight-seeing, she fumed quietly. The closer they got to the waterfront the thicker and faster the snow fell. Why the hell couldn't they have taken the subway to wherever Duke was going? It would be drier, anyway than continuing to be out here in weather that would make an Inuit think twice about being out and about. And now Duke was meandering along, seemingly going nowhere slowly.

She knew it wasn't fair to Duke to be angry at him. Too much had happened to her too fast, and it wasn't like she could be angry with Nathan, or even with Eunice. Duke was here, and she knew he would take it. If nothing else, she had learned from his stormy relationship with Nathan that Duke would put up with a lot of abuse before he completely turned his back on a friend. She was angry with herself that she was snapping at the man, but she couldn't seem to stop herself. He was an easy target and she knew he would forgive her nearly everything. It didn't exactly make her inclined to stop taking out her angst on the one man who didn't deserve it.

"Duke, do you have a plan, here? Or are we just going to see the seals at the Aquarium? Cause I got to tell you, it's getting cold and miserable out here and I doubt the keepers left them outside in this weather." Audrey's complaint was punctuated by her falling into one of the infamous potholes for which the city was known. Slush and freezing water clung to her pant leg.

Duke turned around to her. "It's not far, Audrey. One of the places in Boston I actually know how to get to. With the T service being shut down, lots of people are going to be stuck in the city. My guess is that by now, most of the decent rooms are taken. I don't think you want to stay at a roach motel and I certainly don't." He looked tired, the laugh lines just lightly creasing his face were deeper than normal. There was still some warmth and laughter left in his eyes though. She felt an irrational need to make him feel as miserable as she did at the moment. He turned and resumed his snail's paced march across the city.

"So we are just going to migrate endlessly through the city until we find some semi-decent room?" He'd rejected the idea of staying at the hotel Eunice had abandoned them for, and Audrey longed to be warm and dry like the older woman no doubt already was. "Strangely enough, I would take a roach motel over plodding to Medford or Needham in this weather. It was Charlie on the MTA, not Audrey goes MIA." She stopped, and he walked forward. Her hand forcefully slipped out of his.

The dark haired man stopped, and he stared resolutely forward. "I know that Audrey. I lived Audrey goes MIA. I don't want to live it again." The tense lines of his shoulders, and his refusal to turn around and look at her made it all to clear that her last barb had hit home and gotten under his skin. It didn't make her feel any better.

"I'm sorry, Duke." She raised a hand to rest it on his shoulder, then realized that she'd have to stand on something to reach it. He had stopped on a raised section of the sidewalk, and she was still on the small ramp leading up to the sidewalk proper. A snort of laughter escaped at the thought of needing to carry an emergency soap box for when she finally pissed off her boyfriend.

Duke shook his head and moved on, walking faster than he had been. "I'm so glad you found the situation so amusing."

Audrey closed her eyes, and sighed. "Duke, wait. Let me explain."

"No." The tone in the man's voice was more icy that the slush slowly freezing on the street and on her pant leg.

They walked the rest of the way in silence. Audrey was moderately surprised to see that Duke's final destination was not some ship or questionable friend's house. It was instead the beautiful Boston Harbor Hotel at Rowes Warf. The hotel was an old, beautiful building that had graced Boston for forever, it seemed. Though some might say the Zakim Bridge or Fenway Park was quintessentially Boston, Audrey had always thought of this hotel when she thought of the enduring symbols of the town.

It could be seen from the highways, and from the waterways. The building had a graceful arch centered through it, allowing one to see the river or the city depending on which way you came upon the building. Duke quickly walked up and into the arch, and Audrey followed him. She stood there, out of the wind and the snow, admiring the beautiful sight of snow falling on the river, and the artistic lighting in the interior dome. Duke hadn't waited for her, instead he had already disappeared through one of the entrances into the building. She more slowly followed him, admiring the lush surroundings and wondering exactly how Duke intended to get them a room. She knew from experience checking prices that it was expensive. Boston Harbor Hotel was something to be admired from a distance; she never knew a single person that had stayed there.

She caught up with Duke at the front desk. He was waiting impatiently, and again she felt bad for giving into the irrational impulses to annoy the man. The snow in his hair melted quickly, and within moments it had melted into his clothing. For a nightmare moment she remembered him the last time she saw him soaking wet. She remembered he hadn't been breathing, and his heart was thinking about taking a vacation from beating. The sudden flush of adrenaline cleared her thoughts. God, what was she doing?!

In a few moments a young man gave Duke a set of card keys and an inquiring look. Duke looked at him and thanked him, then handed one of the keys to Audrey. He shivered slightly as he turned back to the young man. "Can you see her up to the room? I've got to go out."

Audrey shifted her weight. She reached out and this time she touched his arm. He spun away from the touch and disappeared out to the doors with the quick rhythm of squeaking shoes on the marble chasing him. He was through the arches and lost to the snow within moments.

The young man cleared his throat nervously. When he saw he had Audrey's attention he motioned her to the elevators. She followed him but tossed a look back over her shoulder to see if any sign of Duke remained. He remained stubbornly absent. The soft ding of the elevator arriving on the floor brought her attention to the shiny doors as they opened with a whisper soft sigh.

Together she and the young man rode up to a floor that was lushly carpeted and impeccably furnished. Boston ferns with fronds lush enough to be found in any jungle were perched on quietly stylish tables. If there were any other patrons on the floor Audrey could see no sign of them. Together the two ventured down the hallway, their footsteps muffled on the fine rugs lining the hallway. At the end of the hall there was a single door, and the man motioned for the key. He slipped it quickly into the card reader and then turned the handle. What lay beyond was beyond Audrey's imagining. This definitely was no roach motel room.

A quiet chuckle drifted by as the man held the door and motioned for Audrey to go through. "Welcome to the Admiral's suite. You'll find complementary bath robes and slippers in the closet."

Audrey entered slowly, awed by the luxury of the room. It was huge, and as she took a few more steps into the room she could see that it had a door out to a balcony which overlooked the harbor. She could see the lights of the ships and the city reflecting in the water when the wind parted the snow.

The young man smiled, obviously enjoying Audrey's reaction. "Mr. Crocker requested a meal to be sent up and it should arrive shortly. Please call the front desk if you need anything. We will be happy to oblige."

Audrey thought darkly that getting Duke back was not likely one of the things the concierge service could accommodate. Still, she couldn't fault him for wanting to get away from her until both of them had time to cool of figuratively. She tentatively explored the closet and found a soft terry cloth robe with matching slippers. She removed them and took them into the bathroom. She hung the robe on the hook on the door and turned on the shower, testing the water until it was a warm as she liked. Things would go better when he came back, and one of the first things to ensure that would be to warm up. She stripped down and let the water cascade over her, just enjoying the warmth and pressure against her body.

While she took a long, drawn out shower she thought long and hard about what she had been told. It all seemed like it was one thing after another, and she wondered when the rollercoaster would end. She began to wonder if they would survive finding out the mystery that was Haven. How could any of this have happened? It just seemed so strange, so surreal. Briefly she longed for the first days in Haven, when everything seemed like such a grand adventure. She wondered how it all got so complicated. She wondered when it would all end. She hoped it wouldn't end with the tragedies that seemed to plague the last few generations.

She thought about the upcoming surgery and what Jess had said. For a few moments she let the stark fear that she was feeling run through her blood. She couldn't, wouldn't allow Duke to know how scared she still was, and how she worried that it would be foolish to believe Jess's text. If Duke knew, he might try to talk her out of it if the transplant still needed to happen, and then Nathan wouldn't have a chance. She was scared that if it still came to that the outcome was just prolonging the inevitable. Dr. Stark had been honest in listing out the potential complications, both for her and Nathan. Thankfully, it wasn't a meeting for which Duke had been present. If he had been, she had a feeling that he would have tried to convince Eunice to make her forget about everything.

The surgery would go forward soon if it needed to happen, and one night in Boston or Haven wouldn't change it. She just prayed to a god she wasn't sure she believed in that it would be enough to save both of them. The water had pounded the anger and the fear from her body. She turned off the water and waited a moment, watching as the drips combined as they rolled down her body. She comforted herself with the thought that the drops only joined together, they didn't separate.

She stepped out of the shower and brushed her hair away from her face, frowning as strands stuck stubbornly to her wet skin. She toweled herself off and in doing so, understood why towels were so frequently stolen from hotels. She watched herself in the mirror briefly, wondering if who she was was reflected there, or if it was just another image, the person she wanted it to be rather than the person she was. She wondered if despite it all, Lucy and Sarah ghosts' stared out from the mirror into her eyes. She didn't want to become them. She wanted to become herself. She drew the warm robe on and turned away from the disquieting reflection.

* * *

><p><em>an: talk to us, people!_


	47. Uncomfortable Conversations

_Join me, peeps: "Let's go __**Farex**__, finish up!" Yeah, you guys take the cheering to reviews, k? Two scenes left to be written, so very close, but still in need of encouragement_

_2. __**MagPie003**__ gets her requested reference, which is actually in one of the very first scenes written in this fic, back in October probably. Oh yeah, we knew where this story was going from the beginning. Well, we knew a lot of it =)_

* * *

><p>Audrey heard movement in the room beyond, not so much the motions of someone in the room as the rustling of plastic bags. She cracked open the door and saw a few bags from boutiques on one of the central table. There was also a room service cart pushed up to the edge of the table. A path in the fibers of the carpet showed the trek it took from the door to its current parking spot. There was no sign of anyone else in the immediate vicinity.<p>

She slipped her feet into the slippers and ventured out into the room. It would be mortifying to meet one of the hotel employees dressed only in a robe and slippers. The lights in the room were dim, and cast the room in shadow. She took a quick look through the bags and noticed a variety of shops had been visited. She looked up briefly and saw that there was a set of tracks leading out from the balcony into the small courtyard beyond the doors. Duke stood out in the snow, staring up. She doubted that he could see her but she could see him in the reflections from the glass. After a moment standing there watching the harbor and the city, he stuck out his tongue and let the snow melt on it. The corners of his mouth turned up and his eyes crinkled. She saw his chest hitch, and realized he was laughing. He smiled ruefully and dropped his head down, still smiling. She wondered what he was thinking.

He trudged through the snow, and slipped as he reached the door. He fell into it and grabbed the handle to stop from going through it. She laughed, not being able to stop herself. He pried open the door and entered, stopping briefly when he saw her.

"Nice. Next year you should try out for the Ice Capades," she said, walking up to him to take the coat he was shrugging off. It smelled of ice and Duke.

Duke gave her a wry grin. "Do they even have the Ice Capades anymore?"

Audrey shrugged. "I don't know. But if they still do, you'd be a shoe in with all that grace and style."

She walked back to the closet and hung up the coat. She came back to see Duke placing the plates on the table, the bags having been moved to the floor. He still looked wet and tired, but he was talking to her, so it was better than it had been.

"How did you manage to swing this place? I mean, I always wanted to stay here, but never would have thought to come here tonight." She sat down to the table and looked at the food laid out on the plate. He had ordered them a surf and turf combo. The steak was incredible, perfectly seasoned and practically melting under her knife. The shrimp was equally good. The salad was a simple caesar, lightly tossed with cheese and was also perfect. It must not have been there too long as everything was still hot.

"Ah, well, I might remind you that I am an importer originally? The restaurant associated with the hotel has one of the best collections of Scotch in the world. I was involved in acquiring some of their supply, and helping the hotel locate some of the more... exotic items its patrons requested. In return, they promised me a free room when I needed one provided the hotel had capacity. I've never called it in before. I didn't realize they'd give me the admiral suite." He shrugged, and saved himself from any more words by applying himself to the meal before them.

They ate together in silence, which gave Audrey too much time to muse about the man in front of her. She wanted to let him know she regretted her flippant remark, but wasn't sure how. Still, there was always something that made him smile. Lord knows she was dressed for it.

When they both had finished their meals, she came around to his side of the field and moved to untie the rope belt holding the robe closed. His arms came up to run down her forearms, then stilled them before they could pull the knot free.

"No Audrey, I don't want to start this pattern. My parents did this every time they fought. I'm tired of history repeating itself and I am not going to follow in my father's footsteps." He stood up and kissed her gently on the forehead, then collected the plates, set them on the cart, and pushed it out to the hallway. He came back and settled himself on the settee in the room. She came down and sat beside him.

She leaned up against his broad chest. "Your parents had a lot of fights?"

He brought his hand through her hair in an absent caress. "Sometimes I thought they only fought to have make-up sex. I don't want to do that, Audrey. Tell me why you are angry with me so I can figure out what to change, what to fix. Don't just fight with me to fight with me. If you think that I'm going to hurt you or abandon you, I can only tell you I'm not. I know things have been hard for you lately. But I'm not looking to hurt you, no matter what my father or your mother may have planned. I love you, Audrey. I just don't know how to convince you of it."

Audrey had tensed as he spoke, and then rose off his chest so she could face him. "No, Duke. I don't want to fight with you either. You did nothing wrong. Well, not between us anyway," she gave him a smile, then continued, "I knew it was wrong when I talking to you earlier but I couldn't stop myself. I'd blame PMS, but given that I just stopped MSing a few days ago, it would be a bit premature."

Duke snorted. "You've been on edge, and it's slowly been getting worse, since before Evie died, Audrey. I lost one woman because she got obsessed about something. I didn't love her at the end. I don't want to find out what losing you would feel like. It was bad enough when you were missing. At least I knew we could find you. If you died..." He trailed off, unwilling or unable to continue the thought.

"I knew when I was laying into you earlier you didn't deserve it. I just couldn't stop myself. It had nothing to do with you, so much as you were someone I knew would put up with it. I'm sorry." She searched his eyes, looking for the acceptance she so desperately needed. He still only watched her warily.

He leaned back into the seat, and considered her. "Do you think this is how Lucy and Sarah started? Just slowly gave in to the anger that eventually consumed their lives?"

Audrey flinched. It was too close to the thoughts that chased around her head in the bathroom. "I don't know," she answered, honestly.

"I don't want to find out, Audrey. I'm sick and tired of being trapped by someone else's history. I want to make my own. I want us to make our own. I'm trying like hell not to become my father. I need you not to become your mother." He cupped the side of her face, and ran a hand down her arm until he entwined his fingers around hers.

She wanted to cry, but couldn't. "I don't want to lose you, Duke. I just don't know how to stop it." She lay back down, taking comfort in the warmth of his body beneath her. The hand that had so recently cupped her cheek slid down and held her tight to him, anchoring her at his waist.

He ran his chin over her hair. "I have a suggestion, but I don't think you're going to like it."

"I'm open to anything. I don't want to go crazy either, Duke," she told his shirt, idly playing with a button hole on one of his many layers.

He sighed. "I think you should talk to someone. Maybe get some medication."

"I can't exactly go up to someone and say, 'Hi, I'm Audrey Parker, I'm going crazy,'" came the irritable response. She could feel the anger building again.

Duke sighed, rocking Audrey with the rise and fall of his breath. "You could talk to someone at the Freddy. It's not like they aren't aware of the Troubles."

"If I go to the Freddy, it'll show up on my records. If it shows up on my records, it might endanger my job." Audrey continued playing with the buttons and holes on Duke's shirt.

He gave her a small squeeze from the arm gently wrapped around her waist. "If you don't go, you might lose you, and I'll lose you too. I'll go with you if you want. I have previous experience with psychiatrists. As much as it pains me to admit this, they do help."

"I'll think about it," she hedged.

"That's all I can ask. I won't ask you anything more about it, but I do want you to think about it, Audrey. I don't know how you can go on the way you are. I don't like seeing you in pain." He kissed the top of her head.

Wanting to move on to a less stressful subject for both of them, she tilted her head until she could see the handles of the bag. "So what did you pick up when you were out?"

"You can look. It's not top secret," he answered.

"No, I'm comfortable here. You can tell me." She could almost feel him roll his eyes.

"I didn't think we wanted to be naked trying to get home tomorrow. The police might frown on that. You know for a liberal state, Massachusetts can be remarkably conservative." She could feel the laughter in his chest.

"We could claim it was clothes eating bacteria and that we are from the Fringe division. But I don't think I have my badge so it would be hard to prove," she commented, leaning as curiosity got the better of her. She forced herself off the couch and found that in the two larger bags there were some other bags. One notably from Victoria's Secret. "You bought me bra and a pair of panties?"

Duke sat up. "Yes, but it's a good thing you're through MSing because I refuse to by tampons or pads. There are some lines I will not cross."

Audrey continued rifling through the bags, pulling out a modest, yet elegant silk sheath night gown in a champagne color. She held it up.

A sly grin crossed Duke's face. "You know, now that we sat down and talked about it, it wouldn't technically be make up sex..."

She pulled out three shirts, all obviously for her companion. "Duke, anyone ever tell you that you are a clothes horse?"

He shrugged. "I like layers."

"So you have three shirts and a pair of pants, and I have a bra, a pair of panties, and a nightgown." She held up his clothing in one hand and hers in another.

Mischief lit his eyes. "It seemed equitable to me. We each got four things."

"Did you graduate from high school? I can sort of see you going commando, but you have 4 items and I have three." She held up the items in question, shaking them.

"I think that since it's a 'pair' of panties, it counts as two. When do you see someone buying a panty?" he asked.

She shook her head. "There is something seriously wrong with you."

He grinned. "But you love me anyway."

She didn't respond, just kissed him on the nose and began leading him to the bedroom. She was sure there were more clothes somewhere in the bags, but they would just get in the way at this point.

* * *

><p>Early the Next Afternoon<p>

"Are you looking forward to getting out of here?" Doctor Stark asked Nathan at the end of one of his bedside check-ins. He'd grown tired of seeing the other man so frequently.

"Sure," Nathan said vaguely. That was what you were supposed to say.

"Then you'll be pleased to know that we're just about done with you."

"What do you mean?" he asked, beginning to feel alarmed. When he'd said sure, he'd thought that Stark had just been making small talk. He was still so weak that the trek to the adjoining bathroom felt like a 5k and the doctor thought he was almost ready to go home?

Either the doctor was oblivious to the panic he'd kindled, or he enjoyed it. "You're one lucky man, Mr. Wournos. Instead of being prepped for a liver transplant like I truly expected, you're going home. It'll be nice to sleep in your own bed, won't it?"

If he didn't die of exhaustion trying to crawl there, sure. "Uh huh." Nathan gave him a long look. "What sort of timeframe did you have in mind?"

"Oh, two, three days." Nathan was on the verge of swallowing his pride and asking the doctor to reconsider when the other man began to walk away. "We'll discuss this more tomorrow."

"Oh," Nathan managed to say, but the room was already empty.

When Jess arrived an hour later, he was still wallowing in despair. She took one look at him and asked, "What's wrong?"

Not looking her in the eye, he said, "My doctor wants to send me home in a couple of days."

Audrey or Duke would have immediately asked what was wrong with that, but to her credit Jess didn't. "He really thinks you're almost ready to go home?'

"Apparently."

"Nathan, I don't mean to be insulting, but you're still as weak as a kitten. This isn't a well-considered idea."

''I'm not insulted, I'm terrified," he blurted out before he could stop himself. Seeing her sympathetic look had him immediately backpedaling. "I don't mean terrified. I-"

"I don't blame you for being apprehensive, Nathan. We'll have to do something about this."

''Thanks." His ideas of what something could be pre-supposed that she'd use her pull at the hospital to get someone to reconsider his release date, or maybe help him hire a visiting nurse.

He did not expect her to say, "I should stay with you until you're back on your feet. Literally."

"What?" he asked blankly, sure that he'd misheard or misunderstood.

Jess gave him a look before repeating herself. "I should stay with you until you're feeling better."

"I can't ask you to do that."

"you didn't ask, I volunteered." Seeming to sense that he was about to protest some more, she went on. "I want to do this."

"Why?" he asked, eyes wide.

"Nathan..." She groaned. "I love you. And this will give me an excuse to spend time with you, with you as a captive audience."

''That sounds like the plot of a book by that King guy over in Bangor," Nathan said uncomfortably. He'd meant it as a joke at first, but his brain lingered too long over the image of an axe for it to really be funny.

''Charming."

Picking at the tape that held the IV in place, he suddenly felt too shy to look her in the eye. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I wouldn't have suggested it if I wasn't sure."

This had him feeling braver. "It would be nice to have help from someone I trust."

"I imagine I'm on a short list," she said lightly, a little too lightly to have been sincere, he thought.

"Very short." It seemed like half the people who had ever been on the list were dead or otherwise lost to him. Thinking about Eleanor Carr made him sad. Looking up at her, he added, "And those I'd trust to help me into the bathroom is even shorter." He offered her a crooked smile.

"Afraid Duke would dunk you in the tub?" she asked, smirking back at him.

He almost protested that Duke was definitely not on either list, but he realized that it was an automatic response. Before everything went so wrong Audrey asked him if he'd ever considered the possibility that Duke had really wanted to be friends again, and at the time he'd dismissed her words. But reflecting just then, he had to admit to himself that Duke had been trying to re-earn his trust with everything he'd done to help the troubled since Audrey arrived in town.

"I'm more worried about snide remarks," he said at last.

Jess raised an eyebrow. "I can't imagine why you'd worry about...not measuring up."

He groaned this time. "Jess, until I'm better you realize that we'd be having PG sleepovers, right?"

"Of course, "she said, sounding startled and blushing.

"Then don't tease."

Her flush darkened. "Sorry. I'll behave."

"Thank you. Willing but unable isn't something a guy likes to be reminded of."

"You'll be better before you know it," she said reassuringly.

"You're the expert," he mumbled.

"You just have to be," she concluded. He thought there was an interesting gleam in her eye as she said it. Then she patted his leg, almost forcing him to remind her about teasing. "I'll be ready to move in - temporarily - as soon as the hospital gives you the boot."

"Thank you," he mumbled before looking up at her. "I lied earlier."

"About?" she prompted.

"I really was scared," he admitted. "I really didn't know what I was going to do on my own."

Jess leaned down and kissed him. "Get some rest."

"Okay," he agreed giving her a lazy smile. He felt so much better than he expected to after Doctor Stark's ambush. With Jess promising to help him, going home didn't feel like nearly as daunting a prospect.

* * *

><p>Later<p>

The first thing Audrey said when they got out of the car was "I want to call and check on Nathan."

To her surprise, Duke snapped his fingers and said, "Don't do that yet. I'll be right back."

"Uh, okay," she agreed, watching him dart into the Gull. In less than a minute he was back.

"You're going to tell me what that was all about?" she asked, trudging up her stairs. As eager as she was to talk to Nathan, it would be more comfortable to call him inside, rather than stand out in the cold.

"I will."

They'd no sooner stepped inside that he held an envelope she hadn't noticed out to her. "I'm sorry, I forgot about this until we got home."

"What is...?" she trailed off when she looked down at the return address. "Oh."

For a second she half expected him to begin to chant "open it! open it!" like an over-excited third grader, but he actually gave her some space, not following her when she sat down and pulled out a letter opener.

Taking her time, she carefully slit the envelope open, and extracted the contents. Her fingers trembled a little as she unfolded the paper, and her heartbeat faltered when she read the words.

"Well?" Duke asked, his tone a lot more patient than she gave him credit for most of the time.

"I need to get in to see Nathan, right now."

* * *

><p>The memory of the imagined cat-fight between Jess and the nurses floated back into Duke's mind about half an hour after they arrived at the hospital. Audrey was about ten minutes from throwing punches, he estimated, and he couldn't really blame her. How could you possibly misplace a patient? That level of incompetence was a marvel to behold.<p>

He noticed that Audrey had taken a deep breath and was just waiting for the yelling to begin in earnest when the person at the desk finally said, "Oh, I understand now."

"You understand what?" Audrey asked through gritted teeth.

She'd been pissed ever since they'd gone up to the ICU only to be told that Nathan wasn't there anymore. Under normal circumstances he thought she would have welcomed the news, but under normal circumstances the hospital didn't hire someone too breathtakingly stupid to figure out how to use the software at the desk's workstation.

"You need to look up the patient by last name," the woman explained, smiling vacantly. Duke wondered what she'd been trying for the past fifteen minutes. "How do you spell his last name?"

He quickly jumped in, slowly and carefully spelling out Nathan's last name before Audrey could hurdle herself over the desk and strangle her.

"Okay, he's in room 207."

"Thanks," Duke called, already rushing Audrey away from the desk. Looking down at her, he said, "Calm down. We know he's okay, and which room he's in now."

"I can't calm down," she shot back.

"Yes you can," he coaxed. "Take a few deep breaths."

"If I do, will you stop talking to me like I'm four?" she asked acidly.

"Yup."

As annoyed as she was by his advice, she did seem far less likely to fly to pieces by the time they reached Nathan's room. He made a move to open the door, but she shook her head. "Sorry. I need to be a big girl and do this myself."

Duke wanted to protest his banning from the room, but he didn't. If she wanted the conversation between her and Nathan to be private, he guessed that was her right. "Okay. I'll wait out here."

Her smile was practically non-existent as she said "thanks" and pulled the door open.

* * *

><p>When the door swung open, Nathan looked up expectantly. His face broken into a rare grin when he saw Audrey hesitating in the doorway. "Hi, stranger. Nice to finally see you," he said, voice light. "Glad I'm finally fit for visitors again."<p>

There was a strange expression on her face, and he felt himself growing panicky. Jess had assured him that Audrey's memories had come back, so why was she looking at him like she didn't know what to make of him?

Before he could open his mouth demand to know if she still remembered him, she finally spoke. "Nathan...We need to talk."

"Sounds serious," he commented.

"It is."

Nathan pointed at the chair that Jess normally occupied, wondering faintly where she was. "So let's talk about it."

"Okay," she agreed, dropping into the chair.

She was clearly reluctant to talk about what was on her mind, which immediately made him suspicious. Audrey looked faintly guilty, and she'd come alone. Was she worried about him being pissed at Duke for something? With a wave of nausea, he came to one unpleasant conclusion. "Are you pregnant?" He blurted out. Her shocked eyes flew his face. Stumbling on he said, "You can tell me if you are. I promise not to kill Duke."

"Dammit, Nathan," Audrey said angrily. "Why do people keep asking me that? No. I'm not pregnant."

He felt slightly relieved, but still suspicious. "Then what did he do?"

"Duke?"

"Yes," he said, beginning to feel impatient.

"Nothing. This is nothing to do with him, nothing at all."

"Then why isn't he here?" Nathan demanded to know, feeling petulant. There has to be a reason she was there alone, especially considering how guilty Duke had sounded about the accident the last time they'd spoken.

"He wanted to come. But I told him that I wanted to talk to you alone." She took a deep breath. "Because, Nathan, this conversation only has to do with you and me."

Nathan looked away. "You blame me."

"What?"

"If I hadn't jump to conclusions and forced Duke to defend himself, maybe we would've found you before you lost your memory. I don't know how to tell you how sorry-"

When he dared to look at her again she was shaking her head. "We are not discussing that now."

"Then what?" he asked, irritated. He didn't fail to notice that she hadn't said they'd never discuss it.

"Did anyone tell you that they were worried that you might need a liver transplant?" Audrey asked.

"Yes. But I don't. I'm so much better that they're going to release me tomorrow or the next day."

Her expression had grown unreadable. "We have the same blood type, so I insisted that they test me to see how good match I'd be. I'm a damn near perfect match, Nathan."

"I knew there was a reason I liked you," he joked. "I can hit you up for half a liver in a pinch." Audrey didn't smile. "Sorry that was-"

"Being that close a match is rare."

Nathan shrugged. "The world is a funny place, full of coincidences."

"This isn't a coincidence," she said flatly.

"Then what, somebody orchestrated it?" He sensed from the look on her face that she had been trying to be subtle about something, and was growing agitated that he hadn't figured out what. "Just spit it out already would you?" he asked, more irritable himself now.

Audrey looked him in the eye. "We match because we have the same father."

"No, the chief would've told me if he and Lucy had-"

"Not the chief," she snapped. "Your real father."

"He was my real father," Nathan retorted mulishly before her words really sank in. When they did, he blinked in confusion. "Max? He can't be your father too. If he was that'd make me..."

"My half-brother," she said mercilessly.

"No." There was no way that Audrey was his sister. She couldn't be.

"Yes," she insisted. "I didn't believe it either, so I have the test done again with new samples, through different lab. It's true."

Nathan pointed at the door. "Out."

"Nathan, you're going to have to accept the truth-" when she noticed his stony expression, she sighed. "All right, I'm going."

He watched her go, torn between wanting to call her back and wanting to insist that she never return.

Eventually he was left alone with his thoughts. At first he wanted to allow himself to continue to deny that they were related but doubts crept in. He'd felt an immediate connection to her, warming to her faster than just about anyone else he'd met as an adult but Jess. They got each other's sense of humor, be that what they were. They had the same coloring...

...His father's ghost insisted that he shouldn't love her.

Why had his father spent so much of their short reunion trying to dissuade him from having feelings for her? "You can't love her...It's not right," the chief had said. If Audrey was also Max Hansen child, "not right" was a horrible understatement.

With another wave of queasiness, he thanked God that Audrey had never returned his ill-conceived affections. What if they'd...

_We didn't_, he told himself firmly. _It doesn't matter why not._ The latter was going to be hard to convince himself of.

* * *

><p>Jess had seen Audrey's stormy expression when she left Nathan's room, and hadn't missed the concerned way that Duke put his arm around her and led her away like he'd expected her to need support. Neither of them seemed to notice her.<p>

Her first impulse was to rush into Nathan's room and to demand to know what had gone on, but she figured that he probably needed time to himself to calm down too if he and Audrey had had a fight, so she took her coffee back to the cafeteria. Sitting there, watching staff and patients go by as she savored the warm sweetness of her drink, she wondered what their blowout had been about.

When the cup was finally empty, she rose and threw it away. If she was gone any longer, Nathan was going to worry about her continued absence rather than cool off.

He stared at her when she entered his room. Whatever had gone on in her absence had been a big deal, that much she was sure of. "Are you all right?" Jess asked, concerned. "Audrey just left with Duke, obviously upset, and you look like you've just seen a ghost."

"He told me that I couldn't have feelings for her," Nathan said quietly.

"Who did? Feelings for who?" Duke hadn't been in the room from what she'd pieced together, so she had no idea what Nathan was talking about. Had Duke somehow been involved in the fight after all?

"The ghost I saw," Nathan explained. "My father's. I didn't by then because I was already in love with you, but he said it'd be wrong to love Audrey."

"Okay..." Jess said slowly.

"Now I know why." Nathan's eyes were bleak. "She's my sister, Jess."

At first her brain seemed like it had suddenly been slammed into neutral, but after a moment she began to give the idea some thought. Once upon a time she'd hung out in Nathan's office and had found herself staring at a group photo of Haven's officers, and she had instantly picked both Nathan and Audrey out of the photo just by looking for their eyes, which always struck her as being so alike.

"Are you going to say anything?" Nathan demanded to know hoarsely.

Jess looked back at him. "You have the same..." She almost said "mother" but she found the idea absurd. Nathan was several years older than Audrey, surely a boy that old would have noticed if his mother was pregnant. "Father," she said, feeling more sure.

"Apparently." Nathan rubbed his eyes as if they burned, and when she looked they did seem a little red. "Don't ask me how Max knew Audrey's mother, though. I can't even begin to guess at that one considering the bastard who fathered me spent most of my childhood in prison."

If he'd been in a more light-hearted mood she might have suggested that Shawshank might be progressive enough to allow conjugal visits, but he looked as grave as a priest so she swallowed the quip back down. "Does it really matter?" she asked instead.

Nathan opened his mouth for a moment before shutting it without saying anything. After a moment he shook his head. Then, not daring to look her in the eye, he asked, "Do you think I'm terrible now?"

"For what?" Jess asked blankly. She'd never say it to him, but finding out that he was related to Audrey actually made her happy: there was a zero percent chance that she'd ever have to compete with the other woman now, no matter what happened in Audrey's own relationship.

"For what?" He stared at her, face a picture of disbelief. "For being the type of guy who'd have a crush on his half-sister!"

Narrowing her eyes, she looked back at him. "You've known for how long?"

"What time is it?" Nathan asked, searching the wall behind her for a clock.

"Minutes," she said insistently. "And I'm guessing Audrey hasn't known much longer."

"A few days."

"Right," Jess agreed. "So neither of you had any idea, any idea at all that there was this connection between you."

"Of course not."

"Then I don't see how this is a poor reflection upon you," she said evenly. "On your late father, yes, but the two of you? How could you possibly have known?"

"I..." Nathan sputtered, looking down at his hands. "I really need to apologize to Audrey for my reaction."

Jess passed him his phone.

* * *

><p>"It's going to be okay," Duke said soothingly as he and Audrey scaled the stairs to her apartment. When Audrey swung the door open he wondered faintly how long it was going to be before seeing her place neat and tidy didn't immediately fill him with relief. A while, probably.<p>

"You didn't see the way he looked at me," Audrey insisted.

He watched her drop her purse and phone on the table before saying, "Having been on the wrong side of Nathan's fury too many times myself, I can assure you that eventually he'll be unable to resist speaking to you. Sure, there will probably be some vitriol at first, but he gets over things. I promise."

"This could be different," Audrey said, whining.

Duke was about to hug her again when her phone rang. Glancing down at it he announced, "It's not different. It's him now."

"Now?" Her eyes were wide with horror. "I can't talk to him now!"

"Sure you can," Duke coaxed, holding the phone out to her.

She warded him off with her hands and backed away. "No no. I can't."

"Okay..." Duke muttered, flipping the phone open. "Hello Nathan. She doesn't want to talk to you right now." He didn't look over to see her reaction to this bit of honesty on his part. Nathan spoke for a moment, and he said "Okay" before closing the phone and placing it back on her table.

Then he grabbed his coat.

"What are you doing?" Audrey demanded to know.

"Going to see Nathan. He asked me to act as an intermediary. I'll report back to you."

"So now he thinks I'm pissed at him. Great."

"You are," Duke pointed out.

"No!" she denied. "Okay, I am a little."

"Come here," he said, pulling her into his arms and kissing her. "I'll be back soon, I promise. Unless you want to go and talk to him yourself?"

"I...I'm not ready to," Audrey admitted.

"That's okay. Love you."

Audrey sighed. "You really must. I feel like I'm sending you into the lion's den."

"I don't think you have to worry about him literally ripping me to pieces," Duke told her, lips twitching against the effort to keep from smiling.

"Promise me that you'll keep out of arm's reach."

"For you, anything."

* * *

><p>Hospital<p>

Nathan looked up when there was a sharp knock on his door. "Come in."

"Nathan," Duke said, giving him a cool look. "I'm here as promised."

"Thank you," Nathan told him. He was slightly disappointed that Duke had arrived alone. But he knew that it would have been a lot to expect Audrey to have run back after he'd treated her so shabbily.

"No problem."

"How mad is she?"

"She'll get over it."

He sighed. "I shouldn't have taken my anger out on her. It's not her fault that we had this sprung upon us like this."

"Nah, it's mine," Duke said easily.

Nathan gave him a suspicious look. "How do you figure?"

Duke spread his hands. "If we hadn't threatened each other with guns, you might never have found out."

"We might as well blame the founding fathers for giving us the right to own guns," Nathan told him, beginning to feel a little more like himself.

The other man nodded. "If you give her a couple of days to cool off, and yourself a couple of days to come to terms with...everything, I think you'll find that it'll be all right."

"I can't believe she's my sister," Nathan muttered. "My feelings towards her before..."

"Half-sister. That's only 50% as creepy as if she was your full sister," Duke said seriously.

"Not helpful," Nathan groaned.

"Nathan, it'll be okay. We'll get you Star Wars on Blu-ray and some therapy, and you'll be fine." Duke gave him a long look. "And I know you, you didn't spend a lot of time thinking about sleeping with her anyway, so I don't get the big deal."

"What makes you say that?" Nathan asked, startled. "About me not thinking about her that way."

Duke snorted. "You 'respect her too much' for debasing fantasies like that. Am I right? I bet you've given that explanation to yourself more than once. There's a difference between abstractly thinking about sex as part of the likely course of a relationship, and really giving it deep thought. You didn't do much if any of the latter, I know it."

Nathan just blinked.

"Maybe your libido is psychic," Duke suggested with a hint of a smile.

"Look, I know you're trying to make me feel better-"

Duke cut him off. "But it's true, though, isn't it? I'm willing to bet good money that your daydreams about Jess have always involved a lot less clothing, so it's not like you're defectively incapable of imagining that sort of...scenario."

Nathan didn't say anything. The flaming of his cheeks said it all for him. "But Audrey kissed me," he practically wailed.

"On the cheek, I know."

"Um. She kissed me twice, then."

"What?"

"When the two of you were fighting. I gave her Lucy Ripley's address, and she gave me a kiss." Nathan paused. "A really terrible kiss, actually. Don't you dare ask if it was 'like kissing your sister' because believe me, I've thought of nothing else."

"I won't say it, but I can't say I'm unhappy that it was awful."

Nathan eyed him suspiciously. "You're not going to punch me for letting her kiss me or something?"

"When's the last time either of us 'let' her do anything? She does what she wants. I can't fault you for her actions, and I'm not up to punching her."

"Right..."

"Really, Nathan, it's okay. You love Audrey. You were just a little confused about how, that's all," Duke said mildly.

"You can only be this calm about it because it's not you who has to feel like a pervert," Nathan accused.

"Well, that, and I'd like to build some goodwill in case you ever become my brother-in-law."

Nathan stared at him.

"It could happen," he insisted.

At that, Nathan covered his face and groaned again. "Oh God, just shut up."

"Aww, come on, Nathan. People have always said that we fight like brothers. If I marry your sister, it'll validate everyone who ever suggested it. You don't want us to disappoint the masses, do you?"

"God!"

"I'll take that as my cue to leave," Duke said smiling openly. He stopped at the door, though. "Hey Nathan, if you're still ticked off about everything, I know a couple of people who are better targets for your ire than Audrey."

"Who?" Nathan asked suspiciously.

"Vince and Dave. Unless you think there's no chance that they knew who Audrey's father was. Because if they knew, they're even creepier than I used to think."

Nathan stared at him, watching him leave. There was no way that they knew. Not after they pushed him towards Audrey. Or so he really hoped so he wouldn't have to kill both of the newspapermen.

* * *

><p><em>an: hmmm…anyone hoping Audrey will come back to the hospital? ::listens::_


	48. A Few More Pieces of the Puzzle

_This is & will be the longest chapter in the story by far because I can't think of a way to break it up that would make sense..._

* * *

><p>50 Hours Later<p>

It took almost every ounce of Audrey's considerable courage to drive up to the hospital. It may take more than she had to actually walk through the door and see Nathan. It had been two days since he had ordered her out of his room, and Duke had come back requesting that both of them take some time apart to consider the revelations. She had no idea how to handle the conversation she knew was in her immediate future. With a deep sigh, she turned the car engine off and sat back heavily in the driver's seat.

Nathan had called and had asked to see her. He actually wanted to see her. He wasn't angry, well, that wasn't true, she amended. He was very angry. He was angry at the people that had kept this secret from them however there was little that could be done at this point except move on. Someone had tossed the deck on both her and Nathan and they were left playing 52 pickup.

She smiled briefly when she thought of Duke's response to that. She'd called him at 8 am, forgetting he had had the closing shift at the Gull, which meant he'd gone to bed about 3. He still answered the phone, worried that something had happened, and she told him about Nathan's change of heart and her feelings about it. His comment had nearly been obliterated by a yawn, but the essence had been he always suspected Nathan wasn't playing with a full deck, so it was pointless to count the cards. He encouraged her to go see Nathan, telling her he loved her even if her brother was an ass. He then fell back asleep with the connection still open. Mornings were not the man's forte.

Hopefully she and Nathan could come up with a full deck between them. If not, maybe they could change the game. She was tired of the proverbial Go Fish and poker that the town seemed to play. Thoughts of poker brought her to memories of Duke, in his underwear. She let the memory distract her until she realized absolutely nothing would be gained by sitting in the parking lot like a seagull looking for a dumpster.

She stared at her hand, willing it to open the door of the gray sedan. It stayed firmly on the wheel. She finished listening to the song on the radio, then the next one. She was so damn tired, she couldn't handle it if Nathan took out his anger on her again. He was supposed to be the calm one. There had been too much to deal with recently, too much and too soon after all the other things that had been lobbed in her direction. She needed one person around her to be sane, and she had voted Nathan. She knew if he went over the edge, it would take her with it.

In her purse, her phone played the hamster dance song. She groaned; Duke had broken her password again. He liked changing her ring-tones, constantly changing the ones for himself and Nathan. Certainly the Hamster Dance was a new one. She answered it.

"Parker." The tone was clipped, business efficient and stressed.

The muted sounds of a TV drifted through the phone before Nathan spoke. "Audrey, the nurses won't let me come out to you even though I'm out of here in the morning. I asked. I really don't want to have this conversation over the phone. If I promise I won't bite, will you please come in? It's got to be getting cold out there."

Audrey closed her eyes for a long moment, opened them, then stared up and surely enough, on the second floor waiting room window she saw Nathan leaning on the glass, looking down at her in her car. "Sure, Nathan. I'll be right up." She ended the call and sighed. She wished she had an idea of what to say to the man who was so suddenly an intimate stranger. Reluctantly she opened the door and left the safe confines of the trusty gray car. She closed the door with car, straightened her spine and trudged across the parking lot.

The door gave a soft sigh in sympathy when she entered the hospital. She walked slowly to the bank of elevators just past the front desk and pressed the button to summon the car. It showed up with a mild ding, and she nearly walked into Nathan when the door opened. He rolled his pole backwards and carefully backed up, allowing her to enter the elevator car.

The two of them rode in silence up to Nathan's floor. Audrey wished she knew if the quiet was due to Nathan's normal reticence or if he was as uncomfortable with the situation as she was. It was too late to change anything about it now.

Another ding announced the elevator's arrival on the floor, and both of them disembarked. Nathan was looking pale, but he was no longer the distressing jaundice yellow he had been at the worst of his illness. Still, he didn't need to be up and about like he had been. Together they returned to his room and she helped get him settled back in his bed.

Audrey was just considering how to begin the conversation when his quiet voice interrupted her thoughts. "My mother always told me if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. I guess you are pretty mad."

Her eyes sought his out, and she read the contrition in them. "Nathan, I..." she began.

The detective shook his head, holding up a forefinger. "I want you to know something Audrey. Duke is right, I can be a royal bastard. In more ways than one." Nathan smiled wryly, "but I'm not angry with you. Not that you don't have the right to be angry with me."

The blonde woman shook her head. "Nathan, I know you don't like surprises. That was one hell of one to have laid on you. It wasn't like I hadn't seen how you reacted to the news about Max." She didn't met Nathan's eyes, but instead toyed with the blanket at the foot of his bed.

"I still shouldn't have treated you like that, and I'm sorry. It took Duke and Jess to remind me that you were just the bearer of bad news, and just as much a pawn in this as I am." Nathan snorted. "And somewhere, a hell has just frozen over because Duke Crocker was a voice of reason."

Audrey gave a slight smile. "That was probably a worse thing to have had happen." She smoothed the blankets where she had inadvertently bunched them up. She risked a look up and saw that he was upset, but as he had stated, it wasn't at her. She looked down, studying her hand, trying to come to grips with everything. She decided to take the bait Nathan had given her. "You know Duke had a suggestion for what I should call you."

She heard the bed's occupant sigh. "I'm going to regret this, but what did he suggest?"

"Bratwurst," she offered.

"Maybe he needs to be in here too. I can't think of why he would tell you to call me a sausage. Jess did say she and Dwight had to bring him home from here one night." Nathan's voice was colored with amused irritation.

"Not the sausage. Brat is Russian for brother. Worst is his opinion of you." Audrey looked up again, gauging his reaction.

Nathan raised his eyebrows, then unexpectedly, he waggled them. "Then I'm also Brat-Best, unless you know of other siblings we have hidden in the closet somewhere."

Audrey shook her head. "No, you are the only brother I've suddenly acquired. I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that I'm the only sister you have?"

The dark haired man nodded. "At least, that I know about." He absently twitched a thumb along his forearm and Audrey wondered how well he could feel it. Silence reigned again, broken only by the sound of someone's bed alarming down the hall. "Audrey, if it means anything at all to you, I'm glad it's you that is my sibling." Audrey looked at him with a questioning gaze. "I always wondered what it would be like, to have another kid around. Everyone told me that a sibling was the pits, older or younger. I can't think of a better sister to have. And I don't have to worry about you stealing my toys. Just borrowing my truck." He gave a lopsided grin. She knew he was trying his hardest in a complex situation.

"I don't know how we should even treat each other," the tired woman confessed in a near whisper. "I don't know what this means to our relationship, our jobs, anything."

"I suggest we treat each other like we always have done. You are my partner for now, and I hope to keep it that way. Haven's small, it's not like there's a gross of detectives hanging around to replace you. They can't accuse us of nepotism, since I didn't know we were related. Hell, no one but the chief and Lucy did, and neither was inclined to say anything. The HIPAA laws will prevent the information from getting out unless we want it to." Nathan yawned, and she could tell he was getting tired from how slowly his eyes were opening after he blinked.

She walked up to the head of the bed, and pressed the button to ease it back down from its upright position. "Nathan, I don't want to sweep this under the rug. I don't think I've ever cared as much about a person as I first cared about you, in either of my lives. I want to be your sister. I just don't know how."

"We won't hide it, Audrey. But I'm going to have to get used to being a big brother and you are going to have to get used to being a little sister. It will take awhile, for both of us to figure out everything." He grinned, wickedly. " And as my first act as official big brother Brat-Best, I declare that I reserve the right to kill Duke if he hurts you, but that's the same as it was before, too, when you were simply my partner."

"Nathan..." there was a definite warning inflection in her voice. It was weakened by the laugh under the word.

"I'm at least going to have to threaten him with grievous bodily harm since he put his hands on you," Nathan paused, obviously thinking about stereotypical things big brothers were responsible for and came up with "When I'm feeling better I will have to chase you around the station with an earthworm. That's what Eddie Harkness was always doing to his baby sister."

Audrey shook her head. It was not going to be easy, and she did appreciate Nathan's reconciliation. He was willing to take on this burden, and even to lead in figuring out this mess. She didn't have to be perfect for him in this, and for that she was extremely grateful. Suddenly she felt better about the whole situation. It was one issue in her life that didn't really need a solution. Like he always did, Nathan caught her as she was falling. He was pretty good at this big brother thing after all. Now if she could just get him to stop threatening her boyfriend.

* * *

><p>Evening<p>

Jess was glad to see the weary relief on Audrey, Dwight, and Duke's faces. Things were looking up, and it was a relief to all of them that he now was scheduled to come home. His recovery was going well, and the hepatic failure was slowly being reversed. To celebrate, she had asked the two men to help rearrange Nathan's home a bit to make it easier to get around while he recovered. What had started as a simple request became an all out war on the disorder and terrorist dust that had taken over the long neglected home. At the end of the day, though, the house was shining, a temporary bedroom had been set up, and there had been no bloodshed. It was a good day, all around.

Still, she had a question she needed to ask. She quietly beckoned Duke over to her side. He came, wary of the hulking janitor that appeared from nowhere to watch them.

"That night you came to the hospital, do you remember telling me to tell him something?" Jess asked, curious, as she dusted the top of some books in a case.

Duke nodded, scratching at his neck. "Kinda? It was really, really late."

Jess chuckled, remembering how tired the tall man had been. "More like really, really early. Still, the words were magic, and you were right, they brought him back. Thank you."

Duke shrugged and tried to wave off the effort. "Like I said, you needed to say them, not me. Wouldn't have worked."

Audrey entered the conversation, easing up beside Duke and rested a hand on his chest. "What did you say, Jess?"

Jess spared a glance at Duke, who suddenly and completely turned bright red. "Duke told me to tell Nathan I was 'Tin Roof Rusted.' It seems to have worked. I don't know what it means though."

Audrey gasped, and slapped Duke on the arm. He tried to avoid it, ducking, but that just improved her aim when the second, albeit gentle, slap impacted his head. "That was not nice, Duke."

"Sorry, Jess," the abused man offered. He continued to try to fend of Audrey's playful attacks.

"I'll only accept your apology if you tell me what it means. I can't be offended if I don't know," Jess pointed out reasonably.

"Uhh," Duke ducked his head lower, leaning away from Audrey and mumbling something almost inaudible. Audrey politely held off her assault.

Jess shook her head. "Sorry, I still don't understand."

He looked up through his bangs, with his most apologetic and innocent face. Whatever he was about to say was going to annoy her, she just knew. Nathan warned her never to trust Duke when he positioned himself to look up at you.

"You know that song, Love Shack, by the B-52's? Well, in the middle of the song the girl yells out that she's Tin Roof Rusted. The band said it didn't actually mean anything." Duke played with the tails of his outermost shirt.

"But..." Jess prompted, dreading the answer.

"But it's become a phrase for being pregnant?" If anything Duke added extra innocence and extra apologeticness.

"You had me tell Nathan I was pregnant?" Jess wanted to throttle the man. The only thing stopping her was that Audrey might mind if her boyfriend died.

"No, I had you tell him you were tin roof rusted. Whatever he decided to interpret that as was up to him." Duke ducked another blow from his girlfriend.

Jess just laughed. Nathan was going to kill Duke. She might make popcorn and watch the event. Still, she had to admit Nathan _would_ come back if he thought he had sired a child. She hoped for both their sakes though that the man hadn't remembered the announcement when he woke up.

This hope of hers was dispelled when Audrey looked like she'd just figured something out. "If he had babies on his mind, maybe that's why he seemed to assume I'd come alone to tell him I was pregnant instead of to break the news that we're related," she mused aloud. "I almost choked when he said that."

Both Jess and Duke looked at her, startled. "He thought you were pregnant?" Duke asked in a strangled voice.

"He said he wouldn't kill you," Audrey replied sweetly. "Like I would have let him anyway."

"Oh dear," Jess said to no one in particular. "I hope he realizes no one is pregnant."

"If he doesn't seem to realize that, tell him you need to buy tampons the next time you leave him to go shopping," Duke suggested. When both women gave him sour looks, he shrugged. "Men need very clear information. I don't think it gets clearer than that."

As much as the thought made Jess want to roll her eyes, she thought it probably would work to dispel any misconceptions Nathan might have. She'd have to see how he acted around her before actually considering it.

* * *

><p>The Following Day<br>Nathan's House

Nathan was never so happy to be home as he was right then. It had been a long, arduous, painful stay in the hospital. If he could have, he would have flown to the garage door and let himself in. As it was he waited patiently for Jess to help him out of the old blue truck that seemed to have grown three inches since he last left it.

Jess acted as a human crutch, encouraging him to settle his weight around her shoulders. His nurse hadn't wanted to let him leave but Stark believed he knew better, and Nathan was still going to be seen by a visiting nurse every day. Still, it would be a fine thing to not have to listen to squeaky sneakers running up and down the halls all night, the bed alarms going off all night long, and smell the cloying disinfectant which seemed to saturate everything.

"Are you alright?" Jess asked.

Nathan nodded. "Yeah, just want to go inside."

She smiled shyly. Together they entered the house, Jess ensuring he made it safely up the step from the garage and into the house. As there was no way he was going to make it up to his bedroom on the second floor, she brought him into the living room. He was suitably surprised.

His bed had been set up squarely in the middle of the room, and an end table that matched none of the rest of his furniture had appeared from somewhere. He thought he recognized it from the Gull's mismatched set of patio furniture. The large recliner had been moved to near the bed, positioned so that Nathan didn't have to travel far if he felt like getting out of bed and sitting. A large stack of wood had also been brought in and laid out near the wood stove. Additionally a small fridge had also mysteriously appeared and acted as an end table on the other side of the headboard. He flipped it open and found it full of various drinks, and a few crepes in a plastic box. Beside them were a variety of fillings for them.

Nathan perched on the bed and was grateful for whatever miracle teleported his bed to this room. He was now only steps away from most of the conveniences he might need during the rest of his convalescence. He also noticed that for him to be gone as long as he had, there was surprisingly little dust. Someone had made a concerted effort in cleaning up the place.

"I hope you don't mind," Jess said, hesitantly. "I asked Duke and Dwight to move your bed down here, and help set it up. I promise that we'll move it back when you are feeling better."

"I don't mind, in fact I was dreading those stairs." He looked around again at the new living room set up. "Did they kill each other doing it?"

"Not for lack of desire. Audrey was around to referee. Although I doubt it was impartial. I have it on good authority Duke bribed her with cupcakes," she replied. Jess flipped open the fridge again and pulled out the plastic box. She looked at it doubtfully. "Are you hungry? Duke left these for you this morning."

Nathan replied, "I could eat," then seeing Jess stare at the pancakes. "You can just nuke them and we'll spread the toppings on them. They'll be fine."

Having a direction seemed to help the woman immensely. Nathan suspected that she'd never made a crepe, and that Duke likely hadn't left instructions on how to do it. Come to think of it, Nathan had never had a crepe that required assembly by himself. Jess went around the corner into the kitchen, where the microwave perched on a counter near the door to the living room. After a few moments its ding declared the crepes reheated.

She put half of them on to each of two plates, then grabbed a few spoons and knives. Together they spread a variety of toppings on to the thin slices of heaven and even Nathan had to admit that Duke could make a mean crepe stuffing. Not that he'd do it to the other man's face.

After their dinner, such as it was, Jess handed out a few pills and a glass of water to the tired man. Who knew walking less than a quarter mile and eating some pancakes would be that tiring? Nathan curled up in his divot on top of his bed after kicking off his shoes. Jess used the remote that was stored on the end table to turn on the TV to a quiet program. At least he thought it was quiet until he saw one person nearly rip out another person's throat.

"What is that?" he asked.

Jess grinned. "It's Audrey's vampire show. She wanted me to watch it. I have to say, Nathan, you have some competition here."

"Oh," he responded.

"You see that vampire, the one with the blond hair? Yeah, if he was real, sorry Nathan, but I'd leave you for him." She was clearly enjoying watching the muscles play beneath the skin of the Nordic vampire.

"You'd leave me for a vampire?" Nathan asked.

"Only if he came here to Haven. The south's too far to commute to. Besides, his girlfriend has to die first." Jess leaned back against the headboard, and Nathan decided that she made as good a pillow as the inanimate ones on his bed, and rested his head against her shoulder. "Don't feel bad, Audrey told Duke the same thing."

The tired man snorted. "So long as I'm not the only jilted lover, I suppose it's OK."

"Yes, and you have the added advantage of not wanting to run out and kill Dwight," she said, bringing her arm up around his shoulder, settling him a little lower against her.

Nathan made a questioning noise in his throat.

"Duke figured that if Audrey liked blond vampires, he should kill Dwight just on principle. He said he could sort of understand losing her to you, well before you and Audrey knew that... but the thought of her being with him just wasn't tolerable. So he felt the need to clean the cleaner in case he became a vampire. I think that was what may have caused her to referee the set up of the room. You do have wood, and I think she was nervous that he'd use it to create a stake to drive through Dwight's heart." Nathan could feel the laughter in her chest, and managed to run an arm between her back and the headboard, holding her close.

He fell asleep holding the woman he loved, and feeling her return the embrace.

* * *

><p>Several Days Later<br>Nathan's House

When Audrey put her hands on Nathan's mattress, which frankly Duke thought Nathan should replace because it was so worn, he couldn't help but give her a skeptical look. "Maybe we should wait until Dwight can help us again." Dwight had bowed out because he'd been called upon to do some mysterious task that Nathan swore he knew nothing about.

"Are you saying women can't move furniture?" she immediately challenged.

"Um, no?"

"Nathan told me about working for housing summers when he went to UNH. Some of his coworkers were 18 to 22-year-old girls. Women can move furniture."

"But UNH is weird!" he automatically protested. "They throw fish on the ice during hockey games. You can't trust people like that, Audrey."

She shook her head but smiled. "Is that why you went to UMaine?"

"To avoid people who defile a hockey rink with fish guts?" he asked. Even for her that was a strange cognitive leap.

"So you and Nathan could continue your rivalry," she corrected.

"No." He thought about it. "I don't know, maybe partly."

Nathan had finished college two years sooner, though, because he hadn't done any work/travel between high school and college like Duke had. They now had a fancy term for that, "gap year" but hadn't that he'd been aware of back in the 90s. He could imagine Nathan rolling his eyes so hard if he ever used the term that he'd be able to see his own brain. Maybe he should test that theory...

"Thought so!" Audrey said gleefully. Then she grabbed the mattress and gave him no choice but to lift the other end.

It didn't work out nearly as bad as he feared. He knew she was strong, but he'd mostly thought that was on an emotional/resiliency level. But they got the bed set up in record time before going back down for the smaller pieces of furniture that had been part of Nathan's temporary bedroom.

Jess's request that they return the furniture to the second floor hadn't exactly come as a surprise. Nathan was still slow and sore, but he'd managed to visit the Gull for dinner with her a couple of nights earlier, so it wasn't hard to imagine that he was tired of having a sick room in his house, even if stairs still weren't easy for him. A strong will was something that Nathan shared with his sister in addition to coloring. Duke couldn't really blame him, even if it meant moving duty redux, because he'd hate to spend time recovering too.

"He's getting better, right?" Audrey asked, putting down the drawer she was holding. It kind of amused him that she could still properly pronounce the word despite now remembering a New England upbringing. Few natives could wrap their tongues around words that ended in a vowel + wer so most didn't bother trying to.

"I'm not a doctor, but he seems to be. Jess must be glad-"

"Sure," she agreed before he could finish his thought.

"-given that Driving Miss Daisy must be getting old. He's probably dying to get behind the wheel of his hulking wreck too."

"Oh." For a moment he puzzled when she blushed, but he soon put the pieces together.

She blushed harder when he smiled at her. "I, um, I think we're done here."

He surprised her by kissing her on the cheek. "I get to leave before Nate gets back? Thank you."

"Duke!"

"What? I'm going to be cooking a turkey here next week, I think that not wanting to hang around today too should be acceptable."

She thought about this for a moment. "Okay."

He decided to savor his victory instead of teasing her more. You had to take the wins when they came.

* * *

><p>Two Days Later<p>

A loud knock on the front door had both Nathan and Jess looking around, like they could see the visitor from there. Nathan had woken up extra sore and it worried her that he still was when she got out of work, so he and Jess were using his bed as a couch while they watched a movie before they bothered to get something to eat.

"I'll get it," Jess said firmly.

Nathan sagged back against the mountain of pillows. He made a "go ahead" gesture, frowning slightly.

Jess leaned down and kissed his cheek. "You are not imposing on me."

"I didn't say-"

"No, but you're thinking it." With that she strode out of the room, leaving him to stare after her. As much as he enjoyed watching her, it made him sigh. He really needed to get better enough to act out some of the things he'd been thinking about, or the frustration of being almost but not quite up for what he had planned was going to make him lose his mind.

He was still thinking about all the things he wanted to do just as soon as he got his strength back when he heard Jess shout. She sounded horrified, and he couldn't imagine what was wrong. "Jess?" he called, worried.

Jess ran into the room less than a minute later, slamming the door hard enough to make his dresser rattled. She studied the door for a couple of seconds, muttering, "Doesn't it lock?"

"Jess?" Nathan asked again.

When she finally looked at him, her face was drained of color. "You said all the ghosts were gone," she accused.

"They are," he protested. "What-"

To his surprise she seemed angry. "If they're all gone why did I just-" whatever she had been about to say was lost when they both noticed that the doorknob was turning. Jess squeaked and ran to him.

Nathan's eyes widened in shock when the door swung open. "Dad!"

The chief scowled at them both. "Nathan, would you please tell her that I'm not a ghost?"

"No."

"No?"

"You were a ghost the last time I saw you," Nathan said evenly. "If you're not a ghost now, what are you?"

"Annoyed," he snapped. "I'm not a ghost or a zombie, if that was going to be your next guess." He looked at Jess. "Or a vampire like those books you gals like so much."

Nathan thought Jess would protest that she didn't share Audrey's taste in literature, but she remained silent beside him, still trembling like a leaf on a windy day. "Then what?"

"Why, I'm alive, son. I thought you'd work that out on your own."

"Are you sure?" Nathan asked cautiously. If it was true, it was an unusual turn of events even by Haven standards.

"Pretty damn sure. I found myself waking up on a boat in a garage, naked as a jay bird, and had to break out of there. Dead people don't wake up anywhere."

"How did you come back to life?" Nathan asked. He knew that he should remain skeptical, but he wanted it to be true too much to. His father didn't have the sort of imagination to make up a story out of The Terminator , so there had to be some truth to it.

"Simon Crocker might've convinced his son that he could only kill the troubled, but his trouble is a lot more useful than that."

"You're saying that Duke can raise the dead?" Jess asked, looking like she didn't believe it.

"Certain people who died in certain ways, maybe. You won't have people knocking down his door for help, but..." The chief shrugged. "It might help that I wasn't exactly dead. At least not in the traditional sense."

"But I saw your ghost. How could I see your ghost if you weren't dead?"

"I went to pieces. My spirit, what you saw was a ghost, was one of those pieces. As best I can figure. It's not really that important to know."

"How could it not be?" Nathan sputtered.

"What could knowing change?" the chief challenged.

"I..." Nathan's mind stuttered to a halt. He gave Jess a grateful look when she put a calming hand on his shoulder.

Looking over at Nathan's father, she gave him a wobbly smile. "I'm sorry I tried to shut the door in your face."

"No big deal. I have a key, anyway."

"I'm, um, I think I should start cooking. I'll leave you two to talk," Jess murmured, slipping out of the room before Nathan could protest.

The chief watched Jess walk out of the room before turning back to his son. "She staying here?"

Nathan almost asked how he knew, but before he opened his mouth he noticed Jess's things here and there around the room. "Just until I'm better." He thought about explaining to his father how he'd gotten shot, but decided against it. If he wanted to know, he would ask.

His father digested this. "Where's Audrey?"

"With Duke, I'd imagine," Nathan said as lightly as possible. "She usually is."

The chief raised his eyebrows for moment. "How long have they...been involved?"

"A while."

"Since before I saw you?" The chief's eyes bore into him, making Nathan feel petulant.

"August. She started sleeping with him after he got back from burying his late wife this summer."

"I didn't know he'd been married," the chief said, sounding faintly surprised.

"No one did. Apparently he met her while he was off seeing the world. They'd been together a third as long as apart, and she just showed up for a couple of weeks...Just long enough to get shot by one of the Rev's men."

"You don't sound very broken up by that."

Nathan shrugged. "I barely knew her, and she was kind of a..." he trailed off, not needing to apply the label after all. His feelings about Evi's death were still mixed. Even if she was a pain in the butt she hadn't deserved to die. But if she hadn't he probably still wouldn't be able to feel anyone's touch but Audrey. But his half-sister's.

"But nothing ever happened between you and Audrey," his father asked pointedly.

He realized that his father didn't care about his feelings, even the ones that made him now feel slightly guilty. The chief just wanted to know that he hadn't slept with her. "No."

"Good." His father looked relieved.

"Because she's my sister you mean? You've known that all along," Nathan accused. "How could you have said nothing? To either of us?"

"Nathan," the chief sighed. "Audrey taking up with the Crocker boy, that's not a surprise. And I thought Jess would come back to you - obviously she did. I never thought you'd develop feelings for Audrey, not until just before-" He waved a hand. "Maybe I should have made the time to consider that possibility. Maybe I should've paid more attention to you..."

Nathan had been so focused on listening to his father that he hadn't given any thought to what Jess might have been doing besides cooking until he heard the front door open.

Duke called up to him. "Nathan? We're coming in unless you object now. I hope you're decent."

"Stay in the living room. I don't want a crowd in my bedroom," Nathan grumbled back.

"Sure."

"Need help?" his father offered.

"I'm alright." Nathan gritted his teeth at the effort of not groaning when he got to his feet. He still felt like all of his energy had been sapped by some sort of vampire. Maybe the ones from those wizard books Audrey insisted on boring him with the plot details of. At least the show they'd made of that had only been thirteen episodes, so he and Jess had gotten through it in a couple of days.

His father watched him, saying nothing. Nathan decided it was because he recognized the same stubbornness in himself. Nurture had clearly won. When they reached the door, the chief said, "I'm glad they're here. I'm sure she has questions too."

It surprised him a little that his father hadn't grimaced when he said it - few people loved answering questions less. "She's going to have a lot," he warned.

"I know, son."

It seemed to take Nathan ages to reach living room, and when he did he collapsed in his recliner, worn out. Both Jess and Audrey looked concerned, but he waved that off, trying to convince them, and himself, that he was fine.

Nathan knew when his father entered the room after him because Audrey launched herself off the couch, leaving a bewildered looking Duke behind in her wake. "Chief!"

When Nathan turned his head, it didn't surprise him at all that she was giving his father awkward hug.

"It's nice to see you too, Audrey. But why don't we sit down?"

After a moment Audrey returned to Duke's side, but Jess continued to stand uncomfortably until Nathan motioned that she should pull a chair over next to him. It was easier than telling her that she had as much right to be there is anyone. He wished that she was at ease as Duke was.

* * *

><p>Audrey held Duke's hand as she waited for the chief to speak. There were hundreds of question she wanted to ask him, not the least of which was "how did you come back?" but she had an overwhelming sense that she'd learned something important if only she could shut up and listen.<p>

The chief looked uncomfortable to have four sets of eyes on them. He sighed and shifted in his chair for a moment before finally opening his mouth. "I suppose you want to know about Max and Lucy."

"And Simon," Nathan said quietly. Next to her Duke nodded.

Audrey wasn't sure that she wanted to know how both Simon and her mother had ended up dead, but if it was important to Nathan and Duke, she'd grin and bear it.

"You all know that Max was troubled." The chief didn't wait for them to confirm this. "I won't make any bones about hating him, but that had nothing to do his trouble. It was because he was a mean bastard who knocked his wife around, it wasn't above swatting at his son too once he was big enough to toddle about."

"I can't imagine why he and Pop weren't best friends," Duke commented dryly.

The chief nodded. "If your father had been the lackey type, they would've gotten along famously. As it was he didn't shed any tears when Max finally got himself put away for a while."

"A while?" Nathan asked. "I thought he went away before you married Mom."

"He did. But he got out for a few months before violating parole and going back in for a damn long time."

"And he returned to Haven when he did," Audrey said quietly.

"He did. I worried like hell that he'd come around to bother my family, but he found a new distraction. Max never spoke you, did he Nathan? When you were a boy, I mean."

"Then? No."

"Just before he got out I visited him in Shawshank. I tried to put the fear of God into him, seemed to work. I accomplished than much, anyway."

"But you couldn't keep away from your partner, could you?" Duke asked.

For Audrey the question immediately spawned the image of Max dogging her mother, stalking Lucy, maybe.

"Oh, that wasn't the problem," the chief told Duke, startling her. "I couldn't keep Lucy away from him."

"You're kidding," Duke objected. "What did Lucy see in a charmer like Max?"

"A challenge."

Audrey groaned. "Don't tell me, she wanted to save him."

The chief grimaced. "It wasn't like one of those dames in romance novels, Audrey. She thought that if she could change him for the better, it would make life easier for a lot of people in Haven. It probably would have."

"So you just let her keep trying to force help on Max?" Nathan asked sourly.

The chief pointed at Audrey. "She's absolutely complacent compared to her mother," he retorted. "Lucy never entertained an idea that wasn't her own. I tried to tell her that she should let things go when Max rebuffed her, but the more anyone suggested that she leave things alone, the more she wanted to fix him."

Audrey tried not to react in a visible way, but somehow hearing the chief call Lucy her mother made the idea more real than it ever had, even the DNA test results. Maybe it was because he'd actually known Lucy in a way that no one else, even Duke, had: as one adult to another.

"Oh, she was one of _those_ women," Duke muttered.

Nathan shot him a look. "You being you, I'm sure you've had a few try to fix you yourself."

Duke's reply was to kiss Audrey on the cheek. "I only need the one, Nate."

"You think you're fixed now?" Nathan asked, wincing when Jess squeezed his leg a little too hard to shut him up.

* * *

><p>The chief gave them all a dirty look. "Are we in a bar? This doesn't look like a bar, but you all are acting like we're here to socialize."<p>

"Sorry," Audrey told him, even though it wasn't her that he was annoyed with, at least not as directly as the guys.

The Chief shot her a look that suggested that her apology was accepted, grudgingly. "I think things in Haven might not have gone so wrong for your mother if she hadn't taken up with Max."

"Really?" Audrey asked blankly. She hadn't give Max and Lucy's relationship much thought, even though she'd known for a while that Max was her father and the thought of Lucy requesting he be a donor for her was so absurd that there had to have been a psychical relationship between the two. "People knew about...them?"

"Sure, they knew. It wasn't one of those things where they slept together just once and you happened as a result, or a relationship they carried out in secret," the Chief said, and Audrey cringed when Nathan cast her a pointed look. She refused to apologize about that; at the time keeping Nathan in the dark had seemed like the wisest course, and she still didn't regret it, at least not beyond how he'd found out. She'd learned to lock her door at night since then. Oblivious to the silent exchange between siblings, the Chief went on. "I don't know all the details about what finally pushed them together, though I know it involved Max's use of his trouble stranding them in the woods overnight, but once they got together, everyone knew."

"I can picture him shooting his mouth off about it," Nathan said sourly. "Max was a pretty arrogant guy, from what I could tell."

As Nathan said it, Audrey had a memory of an undersized but strutting rooster in a Loony Toons cartoon spring to mind. She could imagine the unpleasant man she had met bragging to all and sundry about managing to turn the head of the last woman who should have gotten involved with him.

"Wise assessment," the Chief agreed. "But Lucy wasn't shy about it, either."

This apparently surprised the others too, because Duke said, "She wasn't?" in a tone that suggested that Lucy ought to have been. Audrey gave him a quick look, wondering how much worse his own assessment of himself would have had to be for him to have considered their relationship something she should be ashamed of. It had actually come as something of a relief when she realized during the wendigo hunt that he'd been okay with keeping their relationship a secret then to keep them off the Rev's radar, not because he thought people in general would disapprove of them.

"I think she truly believed that she'd reformed him. She just wanted to check that off her mental list of things to accomplish so badly that she ignored how much he enjoyed using his trouble to bully people. He made it easy for her to do because he never used it again in front of her."

"But he still used it," Nathan said.

"Course he did. How do you think he ended up in prison again? Bunch of people got hurt, and no one believed Lucy when she claimed it had been an accident." Sighing, he added, "The only one she managed to convince was herself, and that's about when people began to look at her funny. The more people grumbled about what Max had done, the more franticly she defended him. At the time it didn't make sense me, but later on I realized that she'd already figured out that she was pregnant by the time the 'accident' happened."

Sneaking glances at Nathan and Duke, Audrey shivered. It wasn't hard to imagine herself pregnant and desperately trying to defend one or the other to the people of Haven, all the while knowing that her baby's safety largely depended on her getting through to those who were beginning to align against her.

"So they arrested Max and-" Nathan began, but the chief cut him off.

"Not a first. At first everyone knew that he'd caused the accident but it took a while to gather evidence against him."

_Did __**you**__ find it?_ Audrey wanted to ask, but didn't dare to. Somehow the thought of him trying to put her mother's lover away for good left a sick feeling in her stomach because she could see him doing it because it was the right thing to do. Lucy might have been his friend, but Nathan's mother had to have meant more to him, and Nathan did too. From what he'd alluded to, he hadn't even known Lucy was pregnant at the time, and even if he had, he still had the lives of two other people dearer to him to put first. At least for a while, she realized with a start. Duke had told her that the Kid's murder had been three months or so after Nathan's mother died, so Lucy killing Mrs. Wournos had to have been right around the time Max caused the accident. Maybe it had been easy to defend him, knowing that she'd just done or was just about to do something worse herself.

"What sort of accident?" Jess asked curiously. Audrey blinked, having half-forgotten she was there given how quiet she'd been.

"A ledge crumbled up at Sandy Point, falling on a bunch of campers down below. It was damn lucky no one got killed," the Chief grumbled. "Eames and Dixon thought that the troubles were fairytales, but they found enough evidence that could suggest Max had done something to the ledge to make it fall. They seemed to think explosives were involved, the idiots. After three months or so they'd found enough to paint the picture they wanted and Max got hauled in. The trial went pretty quick after that."

"And people turned on Lucy at that point?" Audrey asked, unable to say 'my mother' just then.

"Nope, before then. The Rev and Simon Crocker got things stirred up but good about a month before Max went to trial."

Duke frowned fiercely, and she wondered why until she realized that this had to have been when Simon was "missing". How often had he been in Haven before his death, and for how long? They knew for sure he'd been there during the deadly fieldtrip, but had he been there longer? And why hadn't he let Duke know? For a moment she found herself wondering if the man had assumed that his days were numbered like his own father's had been, and not seeing Duke had been a way to spare the boy the pain of getting him back only briefly. On the other hand, faking his own death would have been a nice way to do a lot of reprehensible things without anyone suspecting him too.

Looking sad, the Chief caught her eye. "Right after the accident I tried to tell Lucy to disavow Max, knowing that things would go better for her if she didn't insist on standing by him, but she flat out refused. I had no idea why she clung so tightly to the idea that he was secretly a good man, at least not then. They might have been open about their relationship, but it was only because they talked about it. A loving couple in public they were not, so I didn't think she stood by him out of any deep affection for him...It only began to make sense to me after the trial."

"Why then?"

"Because that's when she started to show," he said simply. "Honestly, I think I realized that before she did, because she seemed shocked when I confronted her, demanding to know if the reason she couldn't let Max go was because she was having his baby."

"That must have been a fun conversation," Nathan remarked.

"Ayuh. I expected her to tell me to mind my own damn business, or even deny it despite the fact that she had to have been close to five months along. What I didn't expect was for her to begin to sob and beg me to tell her what to do."

"After ignoring you all along?" Duke asked, tone tinged with disbelief.

"Don't think I didn't want to rub her nose in that. But I didn't, somehow. How do you tell a crying woman who is worried that people will extract revenge on her baby that she'd only brought it upon herself? Of course I couldn't. The funny thing is, at the time I'd thought she'd been worried about the baby because of what Max had done. God, I was a fool. Instead I told her to run. Get gone as soon as she could and never come back. It killed me to say something that harsh to her, but I knew it was her only shot. If she stayed..."

_I might not be here_, Audrey silently finished for him. That would have been the only difference, her dying with her mother then, or Lucy dying on her own just a few months, later.

"I must have gotten through to her somehow, because she lit out during the night," he concluded.

Eventually Duke asked the question that Audrey had hoped wouldn't come up. "Chief, do you know what happened the day my father died? They found him in the ocean, but he, his ghost I mean, insisted that Lucy killed him. Then Lucy died in childbirth, right?"

The chief shook his head. "She didn't die because of you, Audrey," he said, looking her in the eye. "I want to be very clear about that. Don't you dare feel guilty when her death had nothing to do with you."

Audrey started. Guilt about Lucy's death had been something she'd been feeling in odd moments ever since she learned that the day she was born was the day that Lucy died. "Then how...?"

Instead of looking at her, the chief turned to Duke. "They killed each other."

"How?" he asked pointedly. "And how do you know? Were you there?"

"I wasn't there, but I spoke to Lucy before she died." They all gave him expectant look which made him sigh deeply.

"But Pop hunted her down," Duke said heavily. "He couldn't let it go."

"He hunted her down," the chief agreed.

"If he'd know that she was pregnant before he went to look for her-" Duke began.

"He did," the chief interrupted him to say. Duke stared at him. "If she hadn't been pregnant, he might have let things go. I don't know."

"You think knowing that she was pregnant made him even more intent on targeting her?" Nathan asked, sounding horrified. Thinking about his reaction to the harbor master's oldest baby, Audrey thought it made sense that he'd be outraged that someone would be so intent on killing a pregnant woman.

"Nathan, do you know what happened the day she disappeared? That she barely had a change of heart when it came to murdering Duke?" Nathan nodded slightly. "It got back to Duke's father, somehow. Simon Crocker was an eye for an eye sort of man, not one to turn the other cheek. To a man like that killing a pregnant woman was justifiable after she threatened the life of his own child. I'm not saying it's right, just that it's not surprising given his world view."

"Did you know that she was responsible for Mom's death when you suggested that she leave? That's pretty turn the other cheek yourself, Dad."

The chief looked grim. "No, son. I didn't know until Lucy was dying herself. Course I didn't," he added with a bitter laugh. "When I think of the last three months she acted as my 'consultant', her knowing all the while that my wife was dead because of her…"

He trailed off into silence until Duke impatiently asked, "So what did happen, exactly, that day?"

"Like I said, Lucy ran off in the middle of the night, and I thought I was the only one who knew where she'd gone. All she told me before she left was that she'd made a horrible mistake and had almost made another one, so she had to leave before she made things any worse. I never found out how Simon tracked her down, but one day he did.

"She had thought she was safe, safe enough to stay in one place for a while anyway, when Simon confronted her while she was taking a walk along the river. There was a struggle, and he ended up stabbing her-"

"In the belly," Nathan declared like he'd had an epiphany, his eyes wide.

"In the belly," his father agreed. "It was a savage slash because Simon had meant for it to kill her and her baby both. The wound didn't prove to be immediately fatal, but it was ultimately responsible for her death a few hours later."

Audrey wondered if anyone else noticed that Nathan had unconsciously placed a hand on his own injury until Jess patted him on the shoulder. Jess had noticed even if the man himself hadn't.

Looking away, the chief went on. "I can't imagine having some of my guts hanging out and still managing to push someone bigger than me away, but I've never had to worry about protecting my unborn baby, either, and that probably gave her the strength. In any case she managed to shove him off the dock, and he cracked his skull on the rocks below. Then he drowned."

The thought of her mother being partially disemboweled made gorge rise in Audrey's throat. She'd accepted that the woman had died, but she hadn't imagined that the injury that had led to her death was anywhere near that horrific.

"And Lucy?" Duke asked soberly. He looked a little green too. It made Audrey glad that she hadn't witnessed Nathan's shooting because that had to be what he was thinking about, even though the bullet hole had to have been quite small.

"Well, she made it to the hospital," the chief said gruffly. "She was in labor by the time they got her there, and they didn't think she'd survive a typical delivery and were worried about the baby's injuries too, so they did an emergency C-section." He turned to Audrey. "You'd already been born by the time she got them to track me down. Haven and East Millinocket are pretty far apart, so you were already a few hours old by the time I got there." Shaking his head, he said, "You can't imagine what it's like to hold a brand new baby who already has thick black stitches holding the edges of a wound together. They keep telling me that you were lucky not to have been hurt worse, but all I could see was an injured newborn who shouldn't have been crying in pain."

"Did they think you were Audrey's father?" Nathan wanted to know. "Is that why they let you hold her when she was just a few hours old?"

As he asked it, she could recall that being a subplot in several movies and TV shows she'd seen, and how unrealistic it had always struck her. The sort of situation where that sort of misunderstanding could arise seemed to spring from a place of confusion if not outright panic too deep to allow for such clever manipulation of hospital staff, and generally on TV there wasn't even a life on the line then.

"No. But Lucy got someone to help her sign papers giving me power of attorney over her affairs while she waited for me to get there. So they didn't protest me seeing the baby given that they knew that I was going to be the one who dealt with her care."

"They knew she was dying, then."

"Gods yes. They were surprised she managed to hang on long enough for me to get there. They'd done the best they could to patch her up, but there wasn't any hope. Lucy and I had the worst conversation I've ever had just before she died." Looking at Nathan he said, "First she made me promise to give the baby away to someone far from Haven. I protested that I could raise her daughter, but she was horrified by the idea that her child might grow up in Haven. Without thinking I blurted out that I could take Nathan and the baby and move away...

"Then she admitted that she'd been responsible for my wife's death. At first I didn't believe her, and thought that her admission was delirium or a ploy to convince me that I wouldn't want to have anything to do with her baby, but then I remembered what you said, Duke, the night my wife died."

"About there being someone else there when she died," Duke confirmed.

"Exactly. The pieces fell into place at that moment, and I was as horrified as she wanted me to be. You'd expect her to have begged for my forgiveness, but she didn't. She'd honestly thought that murdering the Crocker family would have ended the troubles for good, and while she was sad that Nathan's mother had accidentally gotten in the way while she tried to carry her plan out, she wasn't sorry that she'd done what she'd thought was right." The chief looked grim. "You got lucky, Duke. If she had thought she could find your siblings for sure, she might have decided to kill you even if there was a risk of being caught that day. You only lived because she thought her plan would only work if she got you all, and she worried that there might be another child of Simon's out there that she didn't know about."

"Her 'plan' was insane," Duke muttered. "She was as insane as my father."

"I've come to view it more as arrogance than insanity," the chief admitted. "They both had a god complex, and both were utterly convinced that they were doing the right thing."

"And in the end it destroyed them both?" Duke asked snidely.

"This isn't a comic book, Duke," the chief snapped. "What happened was a tragedy."

"I don't see how two misguided people killing each other is so tragic."

"You may not, but Audrey does," he said pointedly. "She might have preferred knowing her real mother, even if she was deeply flawed."

Duke gave her a stricken look. "I'm sorry. I'm an ass."

_I'm used to it and have my own moments of it too_, she didn't say. Instead, forcing a smile she didn't really feel, she said, "Don't worry about it."

He gave Nathan a long look. "You're right. I'm still not fixed."

"But you're working on it," Nathan said blandly. "Besides, Audrey might like you less if you were fixed."

Duke gave him a suspicious look. "Are you making a joke about me getting neutered?"

Nathan's only response was a beatific smile.

Audrey glared at her half-brother, hoping that the hand she had on Duke's thigh wasn't the only thing keeping him from getting up to confront him. Both men swore that physical violence was firmly in the past, but they could still push each other's buttons better than anyone else.

"Then she died?" Nathan asked after he finished gloating, steering the conversation back on track.

"And then she died," his father agreed. "I had to leave the baby at the hospital for four days before they would release her, but then I got Eleanor to look after you while I drove back up there to get her."

It felt surreal to Audrey to be referred to as 'the baby' but she understood why the Chief put it that way. After not having seen her until more than two and a half decades later, he hardly could be expected to conceptualize the newborn he'd seen to and the woman he now knew as the same person.

"I think I remember that. She let me stay up late and fed me ice cream for dinner," Nathan remarked. "Julia didn't like having me there."

"Tough noogies," the chief said so unexpectedly that Audrey almost laughed. "It wasn't like I could have brought you along. You were old enough to have a million questions if I did, and I wasn't ready to answer any of them."

"I can see me wanting to know why you were giving my baby sister away being awkward," Nathan said flatly. Audrey didn't even have to ask him what he thought to be sure of his opinion about what his father had done all the way back then.

"I don't think I could have said anything that would have made you understand," his father said evenly. "You hadn't even met Lucy more than a handful of times and I sure as hell didn't want you knowing about Max, so it would have just been confusing and upsetting. Do you remember how badly you wanted to keep that baby porcupine we found in the woods when you were six, despite me trying to tell you over and over that it'd die if we didn't give to that wildlife rehab place? Imagine how you would have reacted to giving away a baby, even if you had no idea that she was your sister."

"I would have pitched an unholy fit," Nathan reluctantly replied.

"Aww, little Nathan would have wanted to keep you like a stray animal," Duke cooed, deliberately leaning away from her so she knew the remark was designed to irritate her. "Like one of those pound puppy toys they made into a cartoon when we were in grade school."

Audrey rolled her eyes, secretly glad he'd tried to lighten the mood. Looking at Nathan's father, she asked, "Why Boston?"

The chief shrugged. "I wanted to honor her request, but I was reluctant to put too much distance between us. You have to keep in mind that the troubles didn't stop until after you were born. It turned out to be pretty shortly after that, but I didn't know it at the time. I wanted to know that I could get to your new home in a day's drive, if it turned out that I had to."

"What, like if she freaked out her new parents?" Duke asked.

"Something like that."

Audrey's brow furrowed. "You thought I would be troubled too?"

"I was pretty damn sure of it. I just didn't know which parent you'd take after. I'm glad it turned out to be your mother."

"You think I'm troubled?" she asked, surprised. The women in her family were certainly different, but she'd never actually thought of herself as troubled. Un-troubled, maybe.

"Wait. How did giving her to people in Boston make sure that you'd stay within a day's drive? People get new jobs and move all the time," Duke asked before the Chief could answer her.

Shaking her head, she told him, "We didn't move."

"Well, we know that now, but the Chief can't see the future," Duke retorted. She had to admit that he wasn't wrong.

"Could you two focus for five damn minutes?" the Chief snapped, and they gave him contrite looks. Nathan muttered something about it being more than five minutes and earned himself a glare too. "I'd been content to leave you in Boston and hope for the best, but eventually Reggie decided that wasn't good enough."

"Agent Howard?" Audrey asked, feeling a jolt of surprise.

"The guy who got trapped with us on my boat?" Duke asked and she nodded.

"Howard's family had moved to Haven when he was young, so he'd lived through the troubles twice by the time you were born," the chief told her.

"Let me guess, his father is the 'dark man' that the Haven Herald once wrote about," Audrey said with a groan.

"I don't know about that, but it's possible. Anyway, Reggie was concerned about how you'd turn out, and he and his wife were itching to get away from Haven anyway, so they moved to Boston too. If you moved after that, well, so would they."

Narrowing her eyes, Audrey said, "They were worried about how I'd 'turn out'. You mean they were hoping that I wouldn't turn out to be evil."

"He can't mean that," Jess said quickly. Then, when the Chief didn't back her, she asked, "Can you?"

"You have to look at it his way. Both of Audrey's parents were known to have done rather heinous things-" he said, looking like he was trying very hard not to relive his memory of his wife's death.

"So he figured it'd be like that Omen movie," Duke interrupted. "Yeah, we get it. And eventually when the troubles returned you decided that Audrey wouldn't go all dark side on you," Duke said, gesturing as he spoke. "Or at least you decided that the odds were good enough that she'd be more of a help to you than a potential danger."

"Basically."

"Lovely," Jess muttered just barely loud enough to be heard.

"That's another pretty good reason to keep her near, then," Duke commented. "You don't want your secret weapon to be shipped off to the other coast or anything."

"What would you have done if she left on her own?" Nathan wondered aloud.

His father didn't deign to give that question an answer. This lead at least one of them to imagine Audrey being ripped out of a life elsewhere a little more roughly, but not one of them decided that fleeing the east coast would have kept Audrey from being sent to Haven when she had been.

Would the Chief and Howard had any remorse if her life had turned out a little differently and she would have been taken away from a successful career or a family instead? It was nice to think that it would have given them pause, but it didn't ring true. What was going wrong in Haven probably would have provided enough justification to do much worse to the woman who thought she was investigating an escape criminal.

"But I don't remember meeting him until he showed up and told me I 'had a case' in Maine," Audrey confessed. "If he'd been in Boston my whole life keeping tabs on me, why don't I have any memories of him?"

In retrospect her memories of right before and right after she'd suddenly been declared an FBI agent were rather odd. She'd gone to bed about to fail out of nursing school and had woken up perfectly content to believe that she was an FBI agent. Maybe she should have questioned why an FBI agent would have been living in an apartment like that but it had seemed so real that she'd simply accepted it.

"So Agent Howard is the one who gave me the memories of the other Audrey's life," Audrey said, clearly having been thinking about that too.

The Chief shrugged. "I didn't ask him how he arranged to get you to Haven."

Audrey narrowed her eyes at the older man. "You suffer a near fatal lack of curiosity."

There wasn't really anything he could say to defend himself against that, so he didn't bother.

"Is Howard even really an FBI agent?" Duke asked. "I'm guessing no."

Ignoring Duke, the Chief turned to her instead. "He's very good at not being seen, when he doesn't want to. When you were growing up, he just wanted to see you, not engage you in conversation."

"But still," Audrey said doubtfully. The fact that he hadn't looked at all familiar meant he was really good at staying in the shadows.

Apparently she wasn't the only one to think so. "Between him and Dwight, you've aligned yourself with some scary people," Duke remarked.

* * *

><p>The look the Chief gave Duke was dark. "A lot of people would say the same thing of Nathan and who <em>he's<em> chosen to associate with."

At first Duke didn't quite grasp what Nathan's father meant, but it sank in that the Chief meant him and Audrey. Sputtering in disbelief, he asked, "You mean us?"

It seemed to take a moment for Audrey to realize that she was part of Duke's us. "That's hardly fair," she protested.

Uncowed, the Chief just asked, "Is it?"

This shut her up, and Duke wondered if she was thinking as hard about the older man's words as he was. He tried not to dwell on it too long because it depressed him, but Duke had to admit that he was glad that he'd made it all the way to his mid-thirties before he'd been burdened with the knowledge of his family's dark legacy. Growing up without a father after early childhood and with his mother's poor choice of substitute male role models instead had been difficult enough - how would he have made it to adulthood sane if he'd known that lurking around the corner would be the day when he realized that he could kill Troubles? Not that killing a trouble was what bothered him, he might have liked that if he didn't have to kill someone with the trouble too to get it done. He gave his girlfriend a sidelong glance, wondering what sort of thoughts were keeping her mouth shut too. At least she hadn't followed in the footsteps of the women in her family, not the crazier footsteps anyway.

After letting them think things through for a while, the Chief said, "Given how impulsive you both are, I'm surprised that neither of you has asked how I'm here right now."

"You told me you didn't know," Nathan spoke up with surprising bitterness. Duke shot him a look, wondering how long the two had talked before Jess had called the Gull and demanded that they come over.

"No," the Chief disagreed. "I told you that I didn't know why. I know how."

Duke made a go-on gesture with his hands, not eager to listen to the two men fight. It reminded him too much of his brief adult conversations with Simon, even though he was pretty sure that Nathan's father wasn't going to insist that Nathan kill anyone.

Pointing one gnarled finger at him, the Chief said, "It's because of you."

"Me? I didn't do anything," Duke protested. He would have probably remembered a séance or other methods of raising the dead. As long as it hadn't happened the night they'd all ended up at the hospital. Narrowing his eyes, he pointed back, actually poking the other man.

"What are you doing?" he snapped in response to the prodding.

"Seeing if you're…what do they call it? Corporeal." His finger hadn't slid through him, so it was a pretty sure bet that he wasn't a ghost. Anymore? Duke's temples began to throb when he wondered too how the Chief had become an ex-spook.

"Satisfied?"

"No. You could still be a zombie."

"Oh, for God's sake." He cast his eyes upward, as if looking for God to actually save him from having to continue what he clearly considered the world's stupidest conversation. Still looking as irritated as a cat whose fur has been deliberately rubbed the wrong way, he gave Duke and his son pointed looks. "I don't know anyone in town who knows more about zombies than the pair of you." He turned to Audrey and Jess and said, "The only way to keep them from killing each other from the ages of eleven to fifteen was to pacify them with horror movies."

The look on Audrey's face made Duke suddenly sure that she was wondering why he'd wanted them to get along at all, especially when he'd told her that the Chief had actively discouraged the boys from being friends when they were small. At times Duke wondered too, and he'd always chalked it up to the Chief trying to keep him from turning out as badly as Simon. Now he wondered if there was guilt mixed up in it too: after all, he'd apparently been completely unaware that a woman he'd once counted as a friend had come within a hair's breadth of murdering a child until after she'd been foiled twice. Even if he had no fond feeling for Duke himself, had he known before the night he'd left Duke and his wife alone...

It wasn't until fingers snapped in his face that Duke realized how deeply lost in thought he'd been. The Chief was giving him an expectant look. "How many non-rotting, capable of speech zombies can you think of?"

"Uh, not many," he admitted. Straightening in his seat and making Audrey shift against him as he did, Duke said, "Okay, maybe you're not dead."

"I'm surprised you didn't decide that I'm a vampire instead," the older man said with a sour laugh.

Duke shrugged and looked towards the window. "It's still light out, or as light out as it gets this late into November, and you're not wearing a ring or anything, so..." It was hard not to grin when he groaned as expected. "So, how do you explain me being responsible for you being here?"

Instead of answering, he turned to Nathan. "How'd I get dug up?"

"I'm not quite sure," Nathan said, and it sounded like he was telling the truth. "All I know is I got home the day I saw you and discovered that the cooler was on my front steps."

"Before you called the hospital up north?" Duke asked. He'd always wondered exactly what had happened with the cooler considering that he knew that Nathan had ended the night at Jess's house.

"Yes. I grabbed it and brought it out to Duke's party boat," Nathan paused and looked at him. "I was going to ask you to borrow it the next day, but..."

"Don't worry about it." If letting Nathan off the hook for intending to commandeer his boat let the Chief continue his explanation, it was a small price to pay. Besides, there actually was a remote chance that Nathan would have asked rather than hotwire the boat. Trying not to look at the Chief, he wondered if the older man knew that they'd both learned how to do that when he'd forced them to spend time together too. They were both still living, so probably not.

"Then what happened?" the Chief prompted. "To the cooler."

Duke began to drum his fingers lightly on Audrey's thigh, mildly amused that she either was so caught up in the conversation that she didn't notice or simply didn't mind. "Then we ran away from a bunch of idiots in the boat later on, and the cooler ended up busting open and spilling pieces of you all over the damn place."

"I love that song," Jess remarked, and then she blushed when everyone stared at her. "'Pieces of You.' It's by Jewel."

The Chief rubbed his eye like Duke wasn't the only one with a headache before saying, "And did anything bad happen to you?"

"Like almost drowning? That sucked, big time."

"Something involving blood," he was corrected with a world-weary sigh.

"Oh, that. Yeah. I gashed my calf on the broken bracket when the boat knocked against some rocks." He decided not to malign Audrey and Dwight's lack of finesse when it came to piloting the boat because it had been such rocky going he might have hit something himself.

"And some of the blood got on-"

"Jess's favorite Jewel song? Yeah. Sorry about that, I did try to wipe it off."

"I can't believe you're apologizing for that!" Nathan exclaimed, and Duke stared at him.

"Why? I don't mind that you got blood all over me when that gun went off since it wasn't like you could help it, but I could've wiped my hands better before I tried to put him back in the cooler."

"He wouldn't be here if you didn't," Audrey said gently, like she was afraid of him taking the news badly. When he didn't say anything, she rubbed his shoulder.

Duke was afraid that she was right to think he wouldn't react very well, and he stood up so fast that he worried that he'd knock her over, but she was better balanced than he'd though. "Uh uh," he said, looking at the Chief. "You can't sit here and tell me that my trouble is even worse than I thought."

"It's not worse!" Audrey squeaked and everyone ignored her.

"Duke," the Chief said sternly, capturing his attention. "Don't worry. It's not going to happen again."

"How do you know I won't suddenly be plagued by people demanding that I reanimate the corpses of their loved ones?" By this time he was so upset he was shaking, but he refused to let Audrey comfort him, backing away and waving her off when she stood to close the distance between them.

Knowing that people all over town knew that he could end a trouble was bad enough, but this was infinitely worse. People would actually expect him to save their loved ones from death. There was no way that he could stay in Haven if that happened, and for once in his life there was nowhere he'd rather be so the unfairness of it left him feeling like he needed to throw up.

"There's no reason anyone needs to know," Nathan said quietly, his reasonable tone getting through to Duke who finally submitted to Audrey's calming touch. At any other time he might have whispered something suggestive when she wrapped her arms around his waist, but he just lightly rested his chin on top of her head instead. "When my father...whatever happened to him, the only people not in this room who aren't under the impression that he was lost at sea are Dave, Vince and Dwight. People are going to be more eager to swallow a story about Dad being miraculously rescued after all this time than one about how your blood brought him back to life."

Nathan's father nodded. "After drifting out to sea I could have been rescued by Canadian fishermen, then been stranded up there without a passport until I managed to prove who I was."

"And why wouldn't you have gotten in touch with Nathan even if you couldn't come home right away?" Duke asked petulantly. He really did want to believe that people would believe the tale the Wournos men were spinning, but he knew that his question would be the very first one that anyone with half a brain asked.

The Chief sighed. "Okay, maybe I wasn't stranded. I was just tired of everything that was going on that I just wanted to have a break from it all. People knew that there was friction between Nathan and I before...that happened, so people wouldn't blame me for wanting to avoid it all for a while. Eventually someone figured out where I was and let me know that Nathan was..." He eyed his son. "You're going to have to tell me what happened to you, son, but I know it wasn't good, not the way you're moving like you're twice your age." Nathan made a gun of his hand and moved his thumb to indicate pulling a trigger. "Yup, that's pretty damned serious. Some day you're going to have to explain that to me."

Duke winced, hoping that he wasn't there when that conversation happened. But turning back to father and son, he asked, "What difference does it make?"

"People wouldn't suspect you had anything to do with it," Nathan said slowly, like Duke was a small child.

He stepped away from Audrey, shaking his head. "But if people in my family have had this trouble for... however the hell long, why won't people just put two and two together?"

"They haven't," the Chief told him. "There's been no recorded case of a Crocker bringing anyone back to life."

Although he knew that he should feel relief, his fight or flight instinct was still engaged and it made him irritable. "If it's never happened before, what makes you think I'm the reason you're back?" he demanded to know.

"Occam's razor," the Chief told him and he almost asked if that was another cursed object like the puzzle board when he calmed down enough to realize he was actually familiar with the concept.

"Uh huh."

"After I ruled out all other possible explanations, you are all that's left. If there's another possible cause, I sure as hell don't know what it is."

"The important thing is that people won't connect it to you because it's not something they're conditioned to believe, even if they think the troubles are real," Jess said calmly.

Irrationally, he wanted to lash out at her too. Of all of them in the room, she had the least at stake if anyone suspected what the Chief thought was the truth, so it was easy for her to sit there placidly and say that nothing bad was going to happen. He gritted his teeth and told himself to be fair. It was a struggle, but he managed not to pick a fight with Jess too. Audrey's grip on his arm probably helped, and he let her win when she tried again to get him to sit back down.

* * *

><p><em>an: Neo and Faerex went to UNH, and Neo works there now. The Wildcats are and have always been a better hockey team than The Black Bears. ::sticks fingers in ears::_

_This story has a total of 51 chapters, just thought you'd like to know that._


	49. Revenge! Revenge!

The five of them talked for quite a while longer before Duke and Audrey left. She'd given The Chief another hug, suggesting to Nathan that she'd forgiven him already for honoring her mother's dying wish. He himself was less sure that he was ready to offer his father the same forgiveness so readily. It was impossible to know if his life would have been better or worse if he'd grown up with his sister, but it definitely would have been different. Growing up he'd always wished that he hadn't been an only child, and having a little sister would have meant a lot to him.

He stopped his wool-gathering when Jess leaned over and kissed his cheek, leaving him to wonder if the three of them had all sunk into silence, or if she and his father had found something to talk about without him. He rather thought not. "Hey," he said, smiling up at her.

"I'm going to run to the store," Jess told him. Her tone left no room for argument.

This made him wonder if she'd actually done any cooking earlier when she claimed that she was going to, or if it had been an excuse to leave the room to call Audrey.

"Okay."

Before he could wonder too long, she was gone, leaving him alone with his father once more. The older man was busily poking at a fire that Nathan was thankful all over again that he could feel. "Dad?" Nathan asked his father's back.

"What?"

"What happens now?" Nathan asked, finally voicing the question he'd been holding back since the moment the door to his bedroom opened and his father appeared before him.

The Chief gave him a cranky look. "Didn't we decide that already?"

"Not that," Nathan objected. "I'm not talking about what we're going to tell people about why or how you've come back."

"Then what do you mean?"

Nathan splayed his hands. "Are you moving back into your house, for one. I've kept an eye on the place since…well, you know. It's still sound, you could move back in."

"I appreciate that, son." His father gave him a long look. "I'm a little surprised that you didn't sell it."

"I…" Nathan stalled. "I couldn't."

"Don't tell me that you were holding out hope that something like this would have happened."

"No. To be honest, I just couldn't bear to drive by there and see someone else living there," he admitted what neither Audrey nor Duke had been able to get out of him. "It just seemed wrong."

"So you missed me," the Chief said gruffly.

Nathan recoiled as if he'd been slapped. "Of course I did!"

"I didn't know if you would." His father didn't meet his eyes. "Things got pretty bad, right there at the end. I wouldn't have blamed you if you were mad at me for keeping what I did from you."

"I was pissed," Nathan acknowledged. "But not enough to have failed to grieve over losing you. Right when you, when you…At that moment I couldn't understand why you didn't trust my loyalty to you enough to have told me all along that we're not related by blood."

"But now?" his father asked, sounding a little hopeful.

"I wouldn't have wanted to tell anyone they were related to Max either. But understanding that doesn't mean I've entirely forgiven you for it."

"I didn't expected you had." Nathan thought he heard a tiny sigh, but he didn't make an issue of it. If anyone was allowed to protest the weight of the world, it was him. "And I do think I'll move back into my house. Seems like you've got enough company here for the time being."

"I do."

"You said for one. What else?"

"What about work? Do you want to be police chief again?" Nathan asked, hoping that his tone wouldn't give away how anxious the thought made him. It would be hard to go back to being just a detective, no matter how often or how hard he protested when people insisted on calling him chief. Until then he hadn't really imagined it that way, and he didn't like it, despite his happiness to have the old man back.

"Nope, I don't think I do," his father said as if it were unimportant. "I'm sure the department's in good hands, and going back to cleaning all the town's messes is not how I want to celebrate being above ground again."

"Then what would you do?" Nathan demanded to know, feeling a strange mixture of curiosity and relief.

"Get in more hunting."

There had to be more than that, but Nathan didn't want to push him. It was likely that the chief hadn't had a lot of time to even consider it.

"Seems to me you've done a pretty good job while I've been gone."

"How could you possibly know how good a job I've done acting as chief of police?" Nathan asked with a divisive snort.

Garland looked him in the eye. "That's not what I mean. You've kept her alive. That's more than I can say about Lucy."

"She's kept herself alive," Nathan instantly corrected. He knew he should give Duke some credit too, but didn't feel like it.

"Uh huh. You had no hand in keeping her grounded, I'm sure."

Thinking of all the times he'd tried to talk some sense into her had him stammering, "Well…"

"Give yourself more credit, son. I'm sure she does." With that the Chief walked over to him. "You got my keys around here somewhere?" It was only then that he realized that his father only had the key to his house because he'd once told him where he kept his spare.

"In the kitchen. You'll need to have the power turned back on, though," Nathan warned.

"I expected that I did." With that his father walked out of the room, leaving Nathan sitting there wondering what to think.

* * *

><p>For two talkative people, Duke and Audrey were nearly silent on their way to his boat. He noticed that she glanced at him now and then in the dark, and waited each time for her to say something, but she never did. That was okay with him, for once he simply didn't have the energy to chat himself.<p>

It was only after they went into his kitchen area and began to forage for something for dinner did either of them decide to quit holding their tongues. "Are you okay?" Audrey asked, looking only mildly concerned, something he was grateful for.

Shrugging inelegantly, he said, "I guess."

"Yeah?"

"I probably over-reacted." But he couldn't go any further than probably. Only time would tell if things in Haven got unbearable for him. He desperately hoped that no one would decide that it was his fault that The Chief was amongst the living again, but when had he ever been that lucky? Still, there was no use on dwelling on what might not happen. Glancing at Audrey he had to hide a smile. Okay, he'd gotten lucky at least once. Maybe it could happen again.

"I don't think you'll need to worry about people demanding you raise the dead," she said, which began to make him feel a little better, but then she ruined it by adding, "You should be more worried about the decrepit or terminally ill trying to get you to murder them."

"Gee, thanks," he said sourly. She of course grinned. "I think I can fight off the elderly."

"But not too hard," she cautioned him. "They're kind of fragile."

"I was speaking metaphorically, not promising to bust some hips."

"Ah," she said, as if this was a revelation.

Giving her a sidelong glance he asked, "What about you? You learned a lot of stuff today too."

"I'm okay."

"Really?"

"I'm not much less okay, if that's what you're asking." Which he fully realized didn't mean she was fine. "Ever since I got my memories back and learned that Lucy was my mother, I wondered how I ended up with a family from Boston if I'd been orphaned in Maine. Now we know."

"Does it bother you?"

"There are probably worse places to grow up than Boston," Audrey replied with a yawn. "Cranston, for example."

He made a face. "Not that. Does knowing that you were with the chief as a baby and he didn't keep you bother you?"

"Of course." Her expression took on a bitter cast. "I guess your unwanted puppy analogy was more apt than you ever knew."

"Lucy didn't want him to keep you," Duke pointed out, hating to be defending the older man.

"So?" she asked so savagely that it shocked him. "She died, Duke. It's not like she would have known if he defied her wishes."

The corner of his mouth quirked down in a quick frown. "Nathan and his father are a lot alike."

"Not that much alike," she groused. "And what does that have-"

"I think Nathan would feel obliged to honor your wishes in a similar situation." When she just stared at him he felt the awkward need to go on. "What happened between them was tragic, but I think they were really friends too, the Chief and Lucy. So maybe he couldn't break his word to her, even if he knew that she'd never know."

"She killed his wife," she protested.

"I know." But he couldn't help but asking another question. "You hugged him goodbye. I thought that meant you forgave him."

"No. I hugged him because I'm glad that he's not dead, not because I think he did the right thing back in the day."

"Being a woman must be strange, being able to feel more than one emotion at a time like that," he teased.

"Uh huh. Men claim to be simple creatures but denying you can hold conflicted emotions doesn't mean you don't."

"Next thing you'll be trying to tell me that you can still see me if I cover my eyes."

"You keep that up and I'm gonna order dinner from the Rust Bucket," she threatened.

Duke held his hands up in surrender. He didn't think she'd really try to choke down one of their dinner offerings to punish him, but she did have that stubborn streak...

* * *

><p>The Following Weekend<p>

Nathan was grateful for the drugs that the doctor thoughtfully prescribed. They kept the pain down do a manageable level, and let him feel nearly human for the times he was conscious, which were few and far between when he first arrived home. They did, however, cause him to be plagued with the oddest visions and dreams when he slept. He remembered a little of the last days stay in the hospital, when he was critical and had been scheduled for a transplant. What he remembered most was Jess being at his side, a warm and comforting presence.

Still, there had been an over-riding image in his dreams of late, one that he was worried about. Jess came into the room, bringing with her a tray with fluffernutter sandwiches. He remembered fondly trying to teach her how to make them. Apparently the miracle that was fluff hadn't permeated as much into Canada as it had New England. Still, he did think he may have converted her from the more pedestrian PB&J to the more gooey and delicious fluffernutter. The best part was the sandwiches were easy to eat and easy to make. They were almost as good as pancakes.

The two ate their sandwiches in quiet companionship. The local radio station provided the only sound to break the silence. Nathan broke it reluctantly, but he was worried about what the dreams may mean. He'd been tempted to ask Audrey if she knew anything, but first of all he knew that she'd simply be unable to keep herself from bringing it up with Jess if she didn't already know, and second she and Duke had gone away for the weekend just as soon as Duke had tossed the remains of the Thanksgiving turkey the four of them had shared with the Chief into the woods. No, if he was going to know the answer to the question that had been plaguing him since he turned a corner healthwise, he'd have to gather up the courage to ask Jess himself.

After the two had finished eating, and Jess had gathered up the plates and tray with the quiet clinking of the dishes, and he reached out a hand and gently touched her wrist. He still marveled at the softness of her skin, the heat that transferred through it warming his chilled hand.

Jess paused, worry crossing her face as she looked at Nathan. God how he loved and hated that look. "Jess, I've been having some dreams..." he started.

The Quebecois woman put down the tray on the table requisitioned from the Gull. "What about?" she asked, concern coloring her tone. He could almost read the thoughts in her eyes that his dreaming usually heralded the onset of a setback in his recovery.

"I keep seeing you as…" He paused and could feel the flush on his face, then nearly lost his train of thought as he realized that more feeling was returning to him. He shook his head to drive the realization from his head. "I dream you are pregnant, and that you are in something like a moonshiner's shed, with rain dripping through the roof."

The dark look of concern transmuted into one of mirth in moment. "I was wondering if you remembered or not."

Nathan sighed. "Then, it's true? You're?"

Jess shook her head, gently. "I'm not, at least I really don't think I am." She sat down on the bed and rested a hand on his blanket covered knee. Nathan was surprised to find out he was a little disappointed. She must have seen it on his face. "It's not that I think I would object, but I would like such old fashioned things as a marriage first. And I would like to know that we would both be prepared for bringing a child into the world."

"Good to know," he said as he settled himself back against the headboard. It thudded lightly against the living room wall.

Jess patted his knee. "You can thank Duke for the dreams, though, and maybe for your life."

Nathan just looked at her with his eyebrows raised.

Jess held her sly smile for a moment more. "Duke was visiting you one night and had this idea. He told me to tell you that I was 'tin roof rusted' but I didn't know what it meant. He told me later, but I didn't want to mention it in case you didn't remember it."

Rolling his eyes, he watched as Jess picked up the tray and carried it off into the kitchen. "Jess, can you please get me fishing line from the garage, it's in the tackle box on the back shelf, a needle, should be in the junk drawer sewing kit, and the box of goldfish from the pantry cabinet?"

Jess returned to with the eclectic assortment of items. Nathan struggled for a moment with the stubborn closure on the goldfish. Jess came around and pushed open the milk carton designed container. Nathan nodded his thanks. "Jess, I hate to ask you, but can you get me scissors and a dowel too. Actually, a couple of them?"

She left the room again and Nathan could track her passage from the sound of her feet on the old stairs, which sang a chorus as she went down them. She came back up them, slammed the drawer shut on the kitchen where he kept the scissors, then returned to the room.

Nathan grinned as she arrived with the supplies. He began measuring out and cutting lengths of fishing line between 18 inches and 3 feet. When he had a large amount of the line cut, he began threading it on to the needle. He smiled, imagining alternative locations in Duke's hide for the next part. He picked up a goldfish cracker out of the box and stabbed it through the mouth area, then tugged the line through.

"Nathan, what are you doing?" Jess asked.

"Getting even," Nathan replied. He speared three goldfish on the fishing line and strung them end to end. At the end he tied off the two ends of the fishing line. "Want to help?" he asked.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Jess picked up another short filament and began stringing goldfish.

* * *

><p>Sunday<p>

It was thankfully quiet after all the excitement of the last few months. Duke was grateful for the weekend getaway trip that Audrey had planned for them both to Dark Harbor, a chance to unwind and relax after all that had gone on. It had been fun, and the best part had been to be away from Haven and its madness. Even Audrey had managed to relax and it had been the calmest he'd seen her in forever, it seemed. It had been fun.

Now they had come back down into town. The lights of the Gull shone below. Someone had hung something in the windows, but he couldn't quite tell what it was. The car crunched on the gravel in the parking lot. Duke was still trying to figure out exactly what was in the windows as they approached the buildings. He growled as he finally drew close enough to see.

The front door of the restaurant now had a very bohemian, very orange look to it. The door now had what looked like a beaded fringe draping from the upper sill. On closer inspection it was a number of goldfish strung end to end, with small knots to keep them in place. Once clear of the cheddar cheese entanglement, Duke surveyed his kingdom. Nothing had been spared. The windows had goldfish swimming through them. The bar had a smattering of goldfish all over it. Then there were goldfish hanging from the rafters. They hung at various levels, and swam through the air while taped to the lazily turning ceiling fan. Another bunch of goldfish were clustered around the sailfish that had made an appearance from the Shiny Scupper. On the very end of the sailfish's sword, a plush pirate toy was impaled.

Duke really hoped that Nathan had not used his police powers to break into his boat or Audrey's apartment. The further they went in, the worse it got. Some enterprising soul had written "Welcome Back, Duke" on the wall in goldfish. The netting was holding bowls filled to the brim with goldfish. Behind the bar, where the top shelf alcohol had been kept when he left, was now home to several bottles still, but the contents were distinctly orange, fishy, and crackery.

The tables by the bar had had a thin plexiglass film that was supported by small blocks, and more fish were artfully decorating in elaborate conga lines.

"Pepperidge farm must be doing well. Someone has moved their entire stock of goldfish to my restaurant." Duke looked around in wonder at the carnage. "Couldn't they have at least used Cheez-its?"

"Nah, that would have defeated the point. You like cheez-its." Nathan appeared from the area of the kitchen, quietly munching on the crackers.

Duke looked down. He had to keep from laughing. "You bastard. There will be vengeance for this," he growled with all the mock rage he could muster.

"Yeah, yeah. I've heard it all before and your idea of vengeance is severely lacking. What are you going to do? Paint a pirate flag on my hood again?" the detective mocked.

"If I told you what it was, you would be expecting it."

"You already told me to expect it."

"You!" Duke pointed a long index finger at Nathan, biting on the inside of his cheek. "You!"

Nathan popped the last goldfish into his mouth, then dusted off his hands on his jeans. "Really articulate there, Duke."

Duke shook his head and picked up a broom to start cleaning up goldfish that were scattered all over the floor. Behind him Audrey let loose with a merry peal of laughter. The uncharacteristically quiet smuggler smiled. It was worth cleaning up the mess just to hear Audrey laugh. He watched surreptitiously as the blonde woman hugged her half-brother, and heard her tell him that he was looking better. Nathan hugged her back.

"So Nathan, did you do this alone? I think you had help. I think that I know who it is, too. I'll get you and your pretty witch, too!"

Nathan yawned. It started feigned and end up real. "I'll believe it when I see it."

Duke smiled tightly and began plotting revenge.

* * *

><p>A Week Later<p>

Duke was surprised to see Audrey come into the Gull carrying a long flat package. When he gave her a questioning look she shrugged and said "I think we've got a sub mail person, because this was left upstairs and it's clearly yours."

He took it from her and smiled when he read the company name in the return address. A little too broadly, maybe, because Audrey asked, "A Christmas present for someone?"

"Um, no," he admitted. "It's something I need for a project."

"Ah, home improvement," Audrey said, before correcting herself. "Or make that boat or business improvement."

He could have admitted the truth about what was in the box, but he didn't want his plans accidentally ruined by letting someone who might not understand in on them. So he decided to distract her instead. "How about you, how is your Christmas shopping going?"

This had her looking unexpectedly alarmed, and for a second he wondered if she'd decided that the other Audrey had the right idea about hating Christmas. "Um, pretty good," she said awkwardly. "I don't need to hide your presents, do I?"

"Audrey, I'm not six!" he protested, amused by the idea of her finding a secret place to stash gifts. He knew her apartment as well as she did, if not better, so what were her options, the station or maybe begging Nathan to watch over them? Or maybe she could ask Dwight and they'd be so well hidden that no one would ever see them again.

She looked more doubtful about his sincerity than he liked. "I promise not to look for any presents until Christmas day," he said solemnly.

"Good."

"Unless you hide them in your clothes," he added, eyes sparkling with humor.

"That sounds like a challenge," she retorted with a smile.

"Well," he said, bending to stash the package behind the bar. "You did ask what I wanted to do Christmas Eve, and I promised to think of something…"

"A treasure hunt?" she suggested, obviously struggling not to laugh.

"Oh! You could even draw me a map!" Duke said, liking the idea more by the second. The package behind the bar could wait, he wanted to know what she'd come up with next.

"A map maybe. But I draw the line at peg legs."

"What about a parrot?" he asked, smirking.

"My landlord doesn't allow pets," she shot back.

"Maybe an eye patch, then."

She put one hand on her hip. "Eye patches on women are sexier than foot scars?"

"Sure. Only part of **Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow** I actually liked."

"We'll see," she said, making him wonder if she was teasing. Probably. But maybe not…

* * *

><p>Two Days Later<p>

His mother used to tell him that revenge was a dish best served cold, but Duke felt that you couldn't realistically delay revenge overly long if you actually expected the person you were retaliating against have a clue as to what you were getting back at them for. Which is why he only waited a few days after the assault on The Gull to pay Nathan a visit.

Although the officer seemed to be doing better, Jess was apparently in no hurry to leave him on his own, which is why Duke parked down the street and waited for her to leave for work one early morning. As he watched the tall brunette get into her vehicle and drive off, he wondered if she'd ever find herself back in her own home, or if she and Nathan just didn't realize yet that she was there to stay. Shrugging, he decided that was their business, though he had no doubt that Audrey would give her brother and her friend her opinion on the matter sooner than later.

After Jess was gone, Duke sat in his truck and did a sudoku puzzle for fifteen minutes, thinking back to how long he'd known it to take for Nathan to fall back to sleep after being woken up - and he found it hard to believe that even Nathan would sleep though a woman abandoning his bed.

Eventually he got out of the truck and quietly shut the driver side door after reaching in the back for the misdelivered package that Audrey had rescued for him. He'd scoured the internet for the item and found that a pre-made one didn't exist, but that there were companies more than willing to make one for you. He considered it well worth the cost of having it made custom.

Trying hard not to hum in self-satisfaction, he pulled out the key Audrey had yet to notice that he'd borrowed. If she figured it out, he thought that reminding her that she'd gone into Nathan's house while he was in the hospital would shame her into being too hard on him about it. So he hoped. The lock disengaged with a whispery click, and Duke silently stalked into the kitchen, knowing it was the farthest away from Nathan's bedroom.

Once in the kitchen he unpacked the box he'd brought in, glad that taking everything out wasn't as noisy as he feared, and followed the brief instruction sheet that the company had provided. Five minutes later he tucked his prize under his arm and made his near silent way up to Nathan's bedroom.

Outside the bedroom, Duke hesitated for a moment. There weren't any wakeful noises, so he eventually felt confident enough to push the door open. Nathan, obliviously sleeping on his back, looked a hell of a lot better than he had in a long while. Seeing him look so healthy made sense of Audrey telling him that Nathan was probably going to return to work before New Years. She'd probably carefully explained this to him, but Duke had admittedly tuned out when she'd tried to explain short term disability as the Haven PD saw it and the family leave act.

Duke watched the other man for a moment before setting up the thing he'd brought, and leaving a small, inconspicuous video camera on the dresser before quietly exiting both the bedroom and the house. Left behind, the camera filmed the sleeping man.

Outside, Duke began to brainstorm how he'd make enough noise to wake Nathan up, but without waking him up in a panic that might distract him from the gift Duke had left next to his bed. He was still outside, toying with the idea of using a long branch that hadn't survived one of the recent snow storms to tap on Nathan's window when the sound of a car slowing down and coming to a stop in the driveway got his attention. Peeking around the side of the house, Duke saw that Jess had returned, looking annoyed. Probably forgot something, he thought.

Shrugging, he waited for her to go into the house before he picked up the branch and approached the window.

* * *

><p>An incongruent tapping sound woke Nathan up from his dosing, so he turned to see if another tree branch was on its way out and let out a blood curdling shriek when he saw what was standing between the bed and the window.<p>

After a moment he realized that it wasn't real, but it was already too late because he could hear someone, Jess he assumed, running up the stairs in response to his bellowing. His face was already red by the time Jess threw the door open and asked "what's the matter?"

Face burning, all he could say was "um."

It was at that moment his girlfriend seemed to notice the thing that had scared him so badly, because her brow furrowed. "What is that?"

Nathan flopped dramatically back down onto his bed. "Duke's idea of revenge, I imagine," he moaned.

"But what is it?" Jess asked, approaching it. "Or who, I mean. I've seen cardboard cutouts like this before, but I'm not sure who it is."

"Mary Lou Retton," Nathan mumbled.

She raised her eyebrows. "The gymnast?"

"That's the one."

"You're afraid of Mary Lou Retton?" She sounded puzzled.

"Gymnasts in general," he admitted.

She gave him an odd little smile. "You're a complicated man, Detective Wournos."

"But that's what you love about me, right?" he asked, looking hopeful.

"Yes-" she started to say, but Duke appeared behind her then, sniggering.

"That was great," he chortled. Nathan wondered what he was doing when he reached over and picked something off the dresser. "And I got it all on film."

"Jesus," Nathan griped.

Jess turned to Duke with a sad look. "I thought you'd changed. Clearly I was mistaken."

"Aww, come on, Jess," Duke cajoled, but her expression remained stony. Shaking his head, he made a bowing out gesture. "Well, I'll let you continue to comfort him. Unless you need to get back to work right away," he said suggestively.

"Out," she demanded, pointing at the door.

"I'm going, I'm going," he said, still looking insufferably pleased with himself.

Nathan propped himself up again. "If that video ends up on youtube, you'll have lobsters in your bed, I promise you. Live ones."

"Eww," Duke replied, shuddering. "No, this is for my personal collection."

"Duke, go," Jess reiterated her demand.

"Fine, fine. See if I lend you my camera after this though. You could have a lot of fun making a-"

"Finish that statement, and I'll give you a black eye," Nathan threatened quietly.

This shut Duke up, who soon disappeared.

"Would you really have punched him?" Jess asked, sounding curious.

"Yeah."

"Good. That was very much out of line."

"Hmmm." Looking up at her with a speculative look, he asked, "But _do_ you need to rush right back to the hospital?"

"No. Someone was supposed to call and tell me that me not to come in until ten because my first appointment of the day was cancelled."

He glanced at the clock; it was barely eight. Holding out his arms, he said, "Come here, I want to show you something."

"What?" Jess asked, letting him wrap his arms around her.

Before he answered her, he captured her mouth with a kiss. "I'm feeling much better."

"How much better?" she asked archly.

He pushed her over, making her giggle in surprise. "Let me demonstrate."

Outside he could hear a truck driving away, and hoped it was Duke. He hadn't woken up pleasantly, but he had to admit that his day was rapidly improving, not that Duke had intended that result. By the time he and Jess had disrobed, though, Duke and his prank were long forgotten.

* * *

><p>Evening<p>

As soon as he saw his girlfriend's exasperated expression, Duke cringed.

"Duke, what did you do?" she asked as she hopped onto his boat's deck. When he'd called her to ask her to come to him for dinner, he'd anticipated that she'd be as amused by the prank as he was, but the look she was giving him said otherwise.

"Took my revenge on Nathan for the goldfish incident," he said lightly. "I take it that Big Brother has already squealed on me. You know, it's kind of funny, he's your big brother, and he also has a lot in common with the fascist regime in 1984. Or is it totalitarian? I always mix those two up."

"And Jess?" Audrey asked sharply. "You got your revenge on her too. I heard about this from her, not Nathan, by the way."

"What? Well, yeah, she was there, but I got Nathan back, not her," he said dismissively.

"Oh, no, you did," Audrey said angrily. "She heard him scream and thought he'd gotten sick or something again. You scared her half to death!"

"Aww, what? Damn." Duke hung his head guiltily. He probably shouldn't have gone through with the prank when she showed up, but he had, without giving any thought to what hearing Nathan scream like a little girl would do to the woman who'd spent weeks hoping he'd get better. "I didn't think."

"Clearly." Audrey crossed her arms over her chest. It was obvious whose side she was taking, and it wasn't his.

"I'll make it up to her," Duke promised.

"How?"

His mind was already paging through the possibilities. "A nice romantic weekend on me?" he suggested. "It did us a world of good, and now that he's back on his feet they could probably really enjoy a weekend like that...far away from me."

"How far away?" Audrey asked, looking less upset at him.

"Just a state away. There's this place I've heard a lot about...maybe we can send them there first, have them see if it lives up to its reputation."

"Well, that sounds nice," she said grudgingly.

"I really didn't mean to scare her," Duke swore.

She looked convinced, and that was enough for him. Daring to smile at her, he asked, "Other than hearing about me being an ass secondhand, how was your day?"

"Long," she said, dropping into one of the chairs on deck. "Boring without Nathan there or you in custody."

Pretending to be worried, he asked, "You're not going to trump up some charges over what I did with the cutout, are you?"

"I don't know," she replied, giving him a sidelong look. "Did you ever pick up those handcuffs you mentioned?"

"Why yes I did, Officer Parker. Never got to give them to Nate, though."

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to confiscate them."

"That's fair. I've been really bad," he said, pulling her back to her feet.

"You've been terrible," she said but he liked how blue her eyes looked when she said it.

"Maybe you can rehabilitate me."

"What fun would dating the town's bad boy be then?"

"Good point."

Looking momentarily serious, she said, "You do need to apologize to Jess, though. Tonight."

"Right now," he said. "But it doesn't make me good."

"Nope, you'll still be pretty bad," she drawled.

"All right then." He plucked her phone from her hip pocket, groping her a bit more than necessary in the process. "Be right back."

"I'll be here waiting."

And the great thing was that he knew she would be.

* * *

><p><em>an: it can't be angst all the time, can it?_


	50. Momentary Peace

December 16th  
>3:45 p.m.<p>

The GPS that Jess brought with them insisted that they'd arrived at their destination, but both Nathan and Jess gave the hotel dubious looks. It looked less like a place to stay than a theme park. Fake igloos dotted the back of the property, and Nathan thought he could make out a few other strange shapes in the snow as well. The building itself, snow-covered as it was, didn't seem quite right either.

"Are you sure this is it?" Jess asked, staring out the windshield herself. "It reminds me of the row houses in that terrible **War of The Worlds** remake you made me watch with you."

Nathan thought she had a point, from the irregular shapes under their blanket of snow it did look a little like someone had smooshed a whole street's worth of houses together, and not the kind of cookie cutter development roads either. "This is the right address," he told her pointing at the address on the marque and the one on the paperwork Duke had given them.

"I guess we'd better go in, then," Jess said with an air of resignation.

Snow crunch beneath their feet, and before long they found themselves at a desk. The man behind the desk looked at them and asked, "Nathan and Jess?"

"That's us," Jess agreed. There must not have been many other couples checking in at that day, Nathan decided.

"Wonderful. Let me show you your room." When the man came around the desk it was evident that he was quite short, barely coming up to Jess's shoulder. "I have everything here," he told them indicating a folder he'd picked up. "I'm Tim, by the way."

"Nice to meet you, Tim," Jess said, but her tone hinted that she was distracted by their surroundings. Even inside it was plain that there was something off about the building.

Ted looked up at them. "This your first time staying at Adventure Suites?"

"Yes," Jess said so sharply that Nathan had to stare at her. She didn't seem to notice.

Ted seemed oblivious to even her tone. "I think you'll really enjoy it. Most patrons do, and many come back over and over."

Nathan found this a little hard to believe as Ted led them to their destination. Inside he was reminded less of a theme park than a children's birthday venue, like the one with a rat as a spokes figure that a classmate's parents had dragged them all to in first grade. Nathan had nearly gotten them all thrown out when he tried to figure out how one of the animatronic singers worked - Jake Miller, the birthday boy, had brought a swift and decisive end to Nathan's explorations by crying loudly when he peeled back some of the acrylic fur to see what was underneath. Jake's freakout only made sense later, on their disgraced way home, when Duke remarked that the other boy was dumb to have thought the robots were really alive, and that Nathan was therefore hurting it by skinning it. Glancing over at Jess, he wondered what she'd make of the story. Somehow he didn't think she'd find it as funny as Audrey would, if only because she might wonder if his old naughty streak was genetic.

"Well, here we are," Ted announced brightly.

When he opened the door for them, all they could do was stare into the room dumbly.

"This is The Jungle Room," Ted told them. "Like in that song."

"Walking in Memphis," Jess said in a strangled tone.

"That's the one. No wonder this room was picked for you."

Until then Nathan had almost been willing to give Duke the benefit of a doubt, hoping that which suite you were assigned was determined by some sort of awful lottery dependent on what was available upon your arrival, or that it was staff's choice, but looking at the beaming man, he knew that Duke needed to have his butt whooped over the choice.

Eerily, just after he thought this Jess pointed at the furniture in the kitchenette. "The chairs, they're animal behinds."

She wasn't wrong. The chairs looked like leftover parts of animals that had been hacked up for unknown, macabre reasons. No heads in sight. However, it as the tribal masks leering down at the round king size bed - with animal print bedding, of course - that really creeped Nathan out more. The fake rock walls and palm trees were confusing, but not scary.

Ted seemed manically indifferent to their obvious dismay. "You should see what the bathroom paint looks like under the black lights! Leaf prints, you know."

"Um..."

"Oh, before I forget, I was instructed to give you this." He held out a note to Jess, who took it with some trepidation.

Nathan watched her eyes scanned the few lines of text, and then he jumped when she began to laugh.

"What?" he demanded to know. She held the note out to him, which said, "Just kidding, Nate. Your sister said she would kill me if I actually booked you The Jungle Room, but nothing was said about bribing the desk person into showing it to you. Your room is really The Wine Cellar...unless you'd really _rather_ have this room. Please don't hurt the desk person. Have a great weekend! Love, Duke".

"I can tell that you would rather have what's behind door number two," Ted said. His eyes were still merry as he mercifully closed the door to The Jungle room. "I think you'll find The Wine Cellar more to your liking."

Fortunately Jess looked less harried, and Nathan himself was thinking it couldn't possibly be as tacky. Unless there was a faux corpse in a wine casket as the room's centerpiece. But that was unlikely, wasn't it? As Ted led them away Nathan prayed that the resort's designer wasn't that well-read.

* * *

><p>When they entered The Wine Cellar, Jess found herself breathing a sigh of relief. It was clearly themed, but it was much more tastefully done than The Jungle Room's decor had been. This theme as obviously for slightly less adventurous guests and that suited her just fine. Some of the subtler touches, such as wine bottles and glasses appearing in the masonry like those hidden picture puzzles in those Highlights magazines in doctors' waiting rooms even made her smile a bit.<p>

"Your bags are by the bed-" Ted told them, and she started, wondering why no luggage being brought to the jungle themed room hadn't tipped them off. There had been too much horror to summon up that much logic, she decided.

"In the nightstands you'll find literature about all of the other suites we offer, for planning your next visit," Ted went on. She looked askance at him, it was pretty optimistic of him to assume they'd come back considering the rough start to the current stay. But then, their real room was fairly nice.

Their guide removed another note from his folder and gave this one to Nathan. "Glad I didn't screw up the order of these..."

Nathan read the note and said "nice" before passing it along to her. She took it, beginning to get flashbacks of seventh grade, when she'd been the go between for Jacques and Magritte's notes long before being passed any addressed to her. As she read it she decided that Ted might not have screwed up the order, but he'd mixed up who to give which note to. The last had been addressed to Nathan, and the second seemed to be more for her. If she was feeling more charitable, she would have given Ted points for trying.

Duke's second note said "Now that Nathan no longer needs painkillers that won't mix with alcohol, wine's on me this weekend. I picked a few I think the two of you will enjoy but there's a list of substitutions if you find your pallets don't agree with mine."

"That's nice of him," she ventured, still wondering if Nathan had meant the gesture was kind or if he was being sarcastic about Duke mentioning painkillers. It did make her contemplate what it had made the notes' scribe think, considering the hand was too careful to be Duke's legendarily inelegant scrawl.

"If you need anything, call down to the desk," Ted said, obviously preparing to leave them.

"Thank you."

For a second he gave them a calculating look, and she thought it was odd that his gaze swept their hands. Then he said, "Speaking of future visits, you should know that we offer modestly priced wedding ceremonies here as well. They're themed to match our rooms, and designed to meet the needs of all budgets."

With that he left them behind.

The second he was gone, Nathan dropped on the bed. She worried that he wasn't feeling well until he began laughing. Eventually he sat up and wiped tears from his eyes and said, "No matter what he promises, Duke can't help at all if we get married. Not even flowers. Not even invites."

Smiling herself, Jess shook her head. "Especially not the invitations. Imagine what they would say if he had any input."

He affected a shudder. "I'd rather not try to imagine."

Struck by a sudden inspiration, she gave him a mischievous look. "Nathan, are there likely to be any antique stores or pawn shops around here?"

"Sure, why?"

Shrugging, she said, "We could pick up a couple of cheap rings and insist we got married here, then watch him swallow his tongue."

"Only if we let Audrey in on the joke. She might kill me for eloping before I could explain."

That was a sobering thought. Big practical jokes like that were so much more palatable on TV than in real life. "Hmm, maybe not then."

"I don't think she'd literally try to kill me," Nathan protested. "It's a funny idea. We-"

"We should hope this is the last of the pranks," Jess said softly.

He frowned a little. "I suppose."

"At least until April first. We'll think of something good then."

Nathan perked right up. "It should involve bananas, definitely."

Jess had been told the terrible tale of the gymnasts, but there was still one thing she wanted to know. "Nathan, how on earth did he develop a banana phobia?"

Nathan's smile made his eyes crinkle. "That's a pretty funny story. Come over here, and I'll explain it."

She obligingly joined him on the bed and listened with some skepticism as he spun his uncharacteristically wordy tale. If it was true, she wasn't sure how she'd look Duke in the eye the next time she saw him. It was really beyond the pale.

* * *

><p>Later Back In Maine<p>

The marshmallow Duke was holding over the fire in the wood burning fireplace on the back deck that he was considering using for outdoor events began to toast nicely. When it was the right color, he held the stick out to Audrey, who surprised him by biting it off the stick rather than pulling it off with her fingers.

"Yummy," she declared.

"I have graham crackers and chocolate around here somewhere," he told her. "I believe I promised you s'mores at one point, and I'm finally able to make good on it."

Audrey looked around. "I don't see any sleeping bags, though."

"Are you disappointed? We could hike over to the LL Bean in Freeport and buy some that are good for 50 below, but then we'd be bundled up like mummies, and…what fun would that be?"

"Not much," she admitted. "And I think I said something about a cabin, so sleeping bags would be beside the point."

"And we're not in the woods," he added. She snorted, and he gave her a suspicious look. "What?"

"Duke, we're in Maine. There's no part of Maine that isn't in the woods."

"Oh, now you sound like a city slicker."

"You do," a voice behind them said, making them both jump.

Duke held out a clean stick and the marshmallow bag. "S'more, Dwight?"

"No thanks," the cleaner said. He walked over to lean against the railing. "I thought you should know that some people have cleared out of Haven over the past two, three days. Looks like they planned to leave for good."

"Anyone we know?" Duke asked, hoping he had a point. Duke wasn't really interested in hearing a town census.

Dwight shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. They're all people who followed Reverend Driscoll."

Turning to Audrey, Duke exclaimed "It's a Christmas miracle!"

"We deserve one of those," she replied, amused by the awed face he was pulling. "Maybe two."

"I hope so," Dwight grumbled, making them both look at him. "I hope it's a good sign, not a bad one."

"Way to bring down the room," Duke complained.

"We're on the deck."

"Then way to bring down the deck. But man, you really know how to find that black lining, Dwight."

"I've had a lot of practice being disappointed," Dwight said calmly. He pushed away from the railing, looking like he had somewhere else to be.

"That's it? You're not going to stay for a s'more after going all Eeyore on us?" Duke gripped.

The big blond man relented and took an offered toasting stick.

* * *

><p>With some coaxing and cajoling by Audrey, they got Dwight to spend fifteen minutes indulging in the gooey goodness of s'mores before he announced that he really had to leave. Duke was tempted to ask him what needed cleaning so badly at eleven o'clock at night, but he got distracted by Audrey cuddling against him for warmth.<p>

At least until he realized that Dwight said "excuse me" on his way out, talking to someone they couldn't see.

The click of high heels on the flooring alerted him to their visitor's gender, if not identity, but he never did get to say "we're closed" before she sauntered in. Katie McCready eyed them comfortably huddled together with a supercilious look before her expression became much more calculating. "Who was _that_?"

"You mean Dwight?" Audrey asked.

Duke had to bite his cheek when the normally cool and collected Katie just waved a hand towards the door she'd recently walked through and said, "I mean him."

"That's Dwight," Duke agreed. "He's taken." He silently willed Audrey to hold her tongue, and to his gratification, she did.

Katie wilted a bit. "Oh."

"Why are you here?" Duke asked, voice more or less friendly, but it still held a slight edge to it.

She looked confused for a second, like seeing Dwight had erased her memory of whatever nefarious reasons had prompted her visit. That kind of surprised him, considering Dwight did absolutely nothing to charm any of the women Duke had ever seen him around, his ex-wife excluded. Katie quickly regained her stride, though, regardless of her apparent interest in the town's cleaner. "I thought I owed it to you to tell you that Nicky came though, just as we knew he would."

Duke privately had long since decided that Audrey was right about how Katie planned to manipulate Nicky, so he was in agreement that the other man was likely to come through. Katie kind of reminded him of a black widow, though she left ruin and despair behind rather than headless corpses.

"Great," he said, trying to sound enthusiastic. "Your work here is done. Right?"

"Right. There's nothing left to keep me in this sleepy little place."

Audrey smothered a surprised burst of laugher before giving the other woman an innocent smile. He almost wished Audrey would tell Katie how wrong she was, because if she knew the half of it, she'd never come back.

"Oh, I'm sure it's exciting enough for a small town cop," Katie added, sounding bored. "You know, if helping old ladies cross the street and finding lost dogs is your speed."

"I don't know, having a criminal mastermind in town might be fun," Audrey said caustically. "Running you in would give us something to do other than stalk the local donut places."

"The kitten has claws after all. That's good. Probably keeps Duke's interest, doesn't it Duke?"

"Sure, why not," he replied flatly.

For the first time Katie seemed to notice the casually possessive way he and Audrey held each other's hands as she spoke to them. For a second he could of sworn he saw a flash of envy in her eyes, but it was gone in a moment and her normal mildly disdainful facade firmly back in place.

"Maybe you should go," Audrey suggested. "Before lil old small town cop me gets it into her head that it might be exciting to drive you to the town line and invite you not to come back. Why, it'd be just like the movies!"

Katie simply said "now I understand" before stomping off without so much as an acid goodbye. For a moment he wondered what she now understood, but he figured it out when he recalled what Katie had said to piss Audrey off the last time the two women spoke to each other and nearly laughed.

As soon as they were alone, Audrey asked, "Why did you tell her Dwight was taken? He's not seeing anyone that I know of, and Nathan said his divorce was finalized a while ago."

"I thought you liked Dwight."

"I do. Sort of."

"Then why would you want to sic Katie on him?"

"I don't, which is why I didn't correct you. That doesn't answer why _you_ lied, though."

"He scares me. There. I said it. The last thing I'd do is set him up with a woman sure to disappoint him and then have him take it out on my hide."

"That's all?"

"That and I don't see a pool out front, so this isn't Melrose Place. No one's paying me a TV star's salary to give a crap about his love life, so I'd sooner not."

"Uh huh," she replied, like she knew something he didn't.

"What?" he demanded to know.

She just shook her head.

Duke rolled his eyes and reached for his marshmallow stick. If it made her happy to think he and Dwight were on good enough terms that he'd look out for the other man's best interest, that was fine. It wasn't like she would actually expect him to do anything.

* * *

><p>Above the Gull<p>

A knock on the door the next morning while Nathan and Jess were still away made both Audrey and Duke look up from lunch at her table. He sighed and stuck a fork into his steak before saying, "If it's Dwight with more bad news..."

"Guess I'd better see," she replied, sounding no more enthusiastic herself. She sort of liked the cleaner, but he never popped over for a game of Jenga or to suggest that they go see the latest movie headlining at the Strand.

"Afternoon, Audrey," Nathan's father said the moment she opened the door.

"Uh, hi Chief." She swung the door open, letting him walk in. And she didn't fail to notice the alarmed look Duke gave her as she turned back towards him.

"Oh, you're eating lunch..." Nathan's father looked apologetic.

"Actually, I need to go downstairs and grab a bottle of steak sauce," Duke said quickly. He nearly upset his chair when he scrambled to leave. "I'll be back in...a few minutes?"

"Um, bye?" Audrey asked his retreating figure. He didn't say anything about how long he'd be gone, but she decided that if he needed to microwave his food, that was his problem.

As soon as he was gone, the Chief said, "I always did make that boy nervous."

It was on the tip of her tongue to suggest that he had that effect on all but the most stalwart of figures, but it seemed unnecessarily harsh so she kept the comment to herself. "That's Duke being, well, Duke."

"Ayuh," he agreed, as if she'd made some sense with the inane declaration. "I got a call from Nathan last night. He and Jess seem to be enjoying themselves."

"Well good. If anyone deserves a good time, it's them." The thought of all the time both had spent at the hospital, in a bed or a chair along side it, came uncomfortably to mind as she spoke. At least that's all past now, she reassured herself.

"That Jess, does she make Nathan happy?"

"I think she does," Audrey said very seriously. "Probably as happy as Duke makes me."

The Chief's look wasn't so much a smile as resignation. "I guess you could have done worse," he said, tone more than a bit grudging.

"Like my mother did?" Audrey asked pointedly. No part of her believed that wasn't what he was thinking about.

"Duke isn't that bad," the Chief replied, looking mildly surprised to be admitting it. "He's rough around the edges, but he's never hurt anyone on purpose."

"No, he hasn't," she agreed. "And maybe that's your fault."

"Fault?" He raised a bushy eyebrow.

"You know what I mean."

The Chief nodded slightly. "I tried."

"I know."

He looked away when he spoke again. "More than I did with you."

Although she wanted to rise to his defense because she liked him, gruff as he was, she couldn't quite summon up the necessary motivation to. A lot would have been different if he'd raised her, but it would have been so much to expect him to take on a second child that wasn't his flesh and blood. Still, he'd obviously grown to love his stepson despite Max being his father. Maybe he could have done it twice. They'd never know.

"I don't think I turned out so bad either," she settled for.

"No, no you didn't. Sometimes I wish your mother had been half as strong as you," he said with a sigh. She'd been about to protest that half of her victories had only come about because she was usually armed and not afraid to use that to her advantage, but before she could, he went on. "She just didn't have the same temperament as you, and let her emotions best her more often than not."

Audrey laughed, she couldn't help it. When he gave her a questioning look, she smiled at him. "If Nathan ever heard anyone accuse me of being even tempered..."

"Nathan can be a little bit more black and white than is good for him. And besides, he hardly knew Lucy beyond a dinner here and there before my wife passed."

She tried to imagine what a much younger Nathan would have made of Lucy. Duke had really liked her, but he needed adult attention right when she came into his life, so he'd been ripe for victimization. Audrey suspected that even as a little boy Nathan had been slower to warm to strangers, but it was hard to know considering he'd been a wilder child than she ever would have imagined to hear people who had known him as a boy tell it. "Hmm."

"Well, I'll let you get back to your meal," the Chief told her.

Puzzled, she asked, "You just stopped by to ask about Jess?"

"No," he said, shrugging a little. "Before Nathan left for the weekend we had a long talk about everything that happened while I was...well. He said you were doing okay, but I wanted to see for myself. And you seem to be just fine."

Audrey wasn't quite sure she agreed with that, but she had given Duke's recommendation about seeing someone a lot of thought. Rumor had it that there was a new doctor moving to town, and she was trying to nerve herself up to making an appointment once the woman began accepting patients, or maybe she would go to The Freddy after all. She was closer to fine than she'd been in a while, though, so she didn't correct the older man. "I've definitely been worse."

"Haven't we all?" he asked sardonically.

That didn't take much thought. "Yep."

"Well, Dave is waitin' on me. I better go before he angers the wildlife on his own. Take care."

"I will, you too."

He nodded, looking pleased, and disappeared.

Duke must have been watching from the Gull because he appeared not two minutes later. "Is he gone?"

His wide-eyed look had her imagining him saying the same thing about a monster, but three feet tall and in footie pajamas as he said it. Smirking, she said "It's all clear."

"Okay." He put a bottle of steak sauce on the table. "Do I even want to know why he dropped by?" Looking slightly horrified by the prospect, he asked, "He didn't say anything about Christmas, did he?"

Thanksgiving had been hard on him, so she wasn't surprised that he didn't relish the thought of another holiday with Nathan's father. She did plan to drop a gift by The Chief's house on Christmas Eve, but she wouldn't volunteer him to come along." No. I think he was just making sure I wasn't going to pieces. Too," she said as lightly as possible. "Though of course he wasn't worried that I would in a literal sense."

"No worries, I'd just bleed on you and you'd be all better."

"Ha."

"Aww, come on, that was funny." Duke pouted.

"Not so much."

"Guess I'll have to try something else."

Before she could ask what, he came around and began to tickle her. Squirming and laughing, she gasped out "Don't!"

"Then admit I'm funny."

"I do not negotiate with terrorists," she shot back stoically, but eventually she caved. "Okay! You're funny!"

"Good. Now was that so hard? Hey!" He hadn't bothered to step away from her, so he jumped half a foot when she found his own ticklish spot.

"There are always consequences to our actions," she said gravely over his helpless laughter. "See? I listen to your Buddhism's now and again." She wasn't quite sure that it matched anything he ever quoted at her, but it wasn't like he was in a state where he could correct her.

* * *

><p>Sunday<p>

There was a definitive snap when Nathan closed his suitcase. Behind him, Jess sighed, making him look over at her.

"Sorry," she said with a tiny shrug.

"You're not happy to be going home?"

"When I go home no one is going to bake me cookies," she said, sounding sad.

He had to admit that the complimentary cookies provided to guests were quite good. "I could learn how to make cookies," he surprised himself by offering.

It seemed to surprise her too. "You'd learn to bake for me?"

"Yup."

"Maybe we could take a cooking class," she suggested.

At first he almost protested, but in the end he didn't. It'd be nice to be able to do something so completely ordinary, with her. "But if we do, we'll become the type of people who buy loafs of bread to stick out of their paper grocery bags."

"Baguettes, Nathan," she corrected mildly.

"You would know."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, you're French."

"I'm Québécois. It's hardly the same as being from Paris, which is what that stereotype is trying to evoke."

"Quebec, Paris, whichever, but who thought naked bread was a good idea in the first place?" he asked her. "It's not. Bread gets stale too quickly as it is."

"You are ever practical, aren't you?" She looked amused.

"Is that a bad thing?"

Her arms snaked around his waist. "No. Someone has to hold the dreamers to the Earth so they don't float away."

Wrapping his own arms around her, he asked, "Are you one of those dreamers?"

"I have my moments."

"Hmm."

Looking up at him, she asked, "How much do you think they'd charge Duke if I brought one of those pretty bottle shaped wall-lights home with us?"

His eyes sparkled. "I don't know. Let's find out."

Laughing she said, "I take it back, you're not always practical."

"I know. Wait here, I left my leatherman in the car. We'll need it to get that thing off the wall."

Jess looked like she thought he was toying with her. At least until he brought the tool into the suite and began to size up the wall fixture in question.

* * *

><p><em>an: there was foreshadowing! Did you catch it?_


	51. Final Stand, Final Truth, All Untangled

December 29th

The smile plastered to Audrey's face as she spoke to a cranky but concerned citizen was so fake she wouldn't have been surprised to see it being sold as a knock off at the flea market down in Salem NH that Eleanor had described to her once. Still, she was proud of herself for not gritting her teeth as the woman droned on. Stan really better be enjoying the day off with his kids, because if he had any complaints he was going to be really scared to piss her off after she gave him a piece of her mind. At least Larry had been so ashamed that Nathan had nearly been smothered on his watch that he'd volunteered for shifts both Christmas Eve and Christmas day, so she couldn't complain that she'd had no time off.

The frumpy middle-aged woman noticed that Audrey's attention had drifted from her very trivial problem and put her hands on her hips before snapping, "Well? Are you going to do anything about this or not?"

Fighting the urge to be snide in return, Audrey gently shook her head. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but there are no laws on Haven's books concerning one animal seducing another. My hands are tied."

Ms. Landow quite obviously didn't like that answer. "But there has to be something you charge the owner with! His dog is leading my poor Seymour astray!"

Audrey didn't consider one dog panting after another that was in heat to be being led astray, but she wasn't half crazy enough to bother the police over something so trivial so clearly she and Ms. Landow were far from on the same wavelength. "I can look to see if his dog's-"

"Jezebel," Landow interrupted. Before Audrey had time to consider anything other than the woman spontaneously accusing her of having loose morals, she went on. "If that dog's name isn't an admission by the owner about what she's like, I don't know what is!"

"I can see if Jezebel's registration and rabies certificates are up to date, but there aren't many other dog-related regulations in town." Irreverently she imagined the town council having to listen to the irate woman at the very next meeting.

Landow rang her hands. "There's nothing else you can do?"

"Well, I could get the dog catcher to increase his visits to your neighborhood. If she's off her leash and gets picked up, the owner will be fined to get her back."

"No, that's okay," Landow said quickly.

I'll bet, Audrey thought. Poor little Seymour was only being seduced by the bitch in heat because his owner didn't keep him from roaming either. Odds were good that her dog would be brought in by animal control just as soon as the other dog. "Okay, I'll have someone check on her tag status then."

"Right." Landow slunk off without so much as a thank you or goodbye.

Audrey wasn't sad to see her go. The boredom of minding the station was preferable to crazies coming in to complain about nothing. It wouldn't be so bad if Nathan hadn't taken the afternoon off to go to another checkup that doctor Stark insisted upon; the doctor seemed to have difficulty accepting that his final treatment had worked, and so ordered so many tests that Nathan had begun to complain that the doctor must be some sort of vampire...and hadn't been mollified when Duke suggested that maybe Stark just had a crush on him and missed their frequent visits. Rather than snapping at him for being a jerk, Nathan had glumly agreed that the doctor did strike him as lonely and miserable. The arguing only started when Duke then proposed that Stark didn't like Jess because he was jealous of her.

The bell over the station's front door chimed and had her stiffening, but a familiar "hey?" allowed her to relax again as she realized that it wasn't Landow coming back to discuss another canine crime.

"In my office," she called back.

"Technically you share the office with Nathan," Duke pointed out. His long stride had brought him to her in seconds.

"Technically Nathan's off being probed by Stark, so it's my office today."

She waited for him to snigger and make a remark about probing, but he didn't. Instead he asked "Slow day?"

"Other than a woman wanting me to charge a dog with the statutory rape of her almost one-year-old collie, yeah."

"Did you give her a card for the Freddy?"

Smirking and shaking her head she said "Unfortunately I didn't pick any up when I stopped by."

"I'll call and have them send you some," he said with an easy smile. She hadn't actually made an appointment when she inquired about treatment options, but he seemed content with the baby steps she was taking towards working on wellness. She didn't want to become her mother but she was still exploring the options, like finding a therapist on Little Tall or in Derry, so she'd have less to worry about in regards to doctor discretion and finding one who would take cash and keep her treatment details out the hands of her insurance company would be ideal.

Audrey startled when Duke snapped his fingers. "What?"

"Just wondering where you went."

"Oh, you know, just thinking about being crazy."

"Who doesn't now and then?"

"Movies say crazy people don't think they're nuts."

"Movies also tell us that beautiful women regularly fall for fat ugly jerks so long as they're somewhat funny," Duke pointed out. "Movies are bad teachers."

She gave him an arch look. "And we both know you're an expert on teachers."

"Babysitters," he retorted.

Anything new with you?" Audrey asked him after a beat, hoping he'd have something amusing to tell her. To her surprise, he pulled an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to her.

When she gave him a questioning look, he said "Remember me telling you that Nathan is different when he's not troubled?"

"Yes..."

He made a gesture towards the envelope she held, so she assumed that he wanted her to open it. She did, and she gave him a puzzled frown after she did. It was an invoice for $343 dollars in room damages at Adventure Suites. "I don't get it," she confessed.

"I didn't either, at least not until I called them up and asked them what the bill was for. Apparently Nathan and Jess absconded with a custom made wall fixture when they left."

"You're kidding!" Audrey covered her mouth, trying to smother a laugh.

"I swear to God."

"You don't believe in God."

"I'm trying to be more open-minded," he said drolly. "But anyway, I ran into him-"

"God?"

"Ha. Nathan. And he didn't apologize, even when I told him this is why we can't have nice things."

"He didn't respond to you getting on his case like his dad? Shocker."

"Hey, I could be a good dad. Just not his dad."

"True."

"Is it?"

"Better than Max or Simon," Audrey said seriously.

"Way to low bar it," he complained. But he brightened. "When do you get out of here anyway? Soon, right? Assuming there aren't any more doggie statutory rape problems before you can get out the door."

Audrey glanced at the clock. "Twenty minutes."

He stood abruptly. "Okay, be back in a few minutes." The he walked over and kissed her cheek.

She looked up at him, confused. "Where are you going?"

"I thought it'd be a good time to check out that new coffee shop, The Daily Grind, or whatever it's called."

"I think it's Perking Up," she said glumly, not enjoying the thought of being left alone again. "We have coffee here in the break room."

Duke shook his head with a shudder. "Before you got here Nate spilled some coffee made here on the hood of his truck. He had to have it repainted. I'll pass."

"Are you buying?" she asked and he nodded. "Okay, but none of that candyish crap Jess likes."

Snorting he said, "Now you sound like Nathan."

She just shrugged. He seemed to be smiling to himself as he walked off.

Once she was alone again she sighed and gave the clock an accusatory stare. It had been too long a day with just the part time dispatcher who spelled Laverne now and then for company. Walt was a mousey little man who hardly said a word to anyone who wasn't speaking to him on the phone, and was so quiet that she kept forgetting that there was anyone else there.

* * *

><p>Seven minutes after Duke left, which she was sure of because she looked at the clock twenty times, she heard the bell again and the sound of a big person's footfall. "Forget something, Duke?" she called. "Or did you decide it was too crowded. I think I know where Nathan stashes his antacids if you're brave enough for a cup here after all."<p>

Instead of the witty retort she expected, there was silence. "Walt? she asked, uncertain. Walt might have been quiet as the grave but the bell would have chimed if he'd stepped out. Maybe he'd gone out for cigarettes, she decided, while she and Duke were talking. That could have kept her from hearing when he left, right?

She rose gingerly anyway, becoming anxious as she walked to the office door. Walt was introverted as they came, but he usually spoke, or stammered, when someone spoke to him first. What she saw when she stepped out of the office had her heart in her throat. It wasn't Duke, or Walt, or even crotchety Ms. Landow.

"You," he snarled when he saw her.

"Me," she said nervously. His hand was jammed in his jacket pocket, and she was positive that he was holding onto his service weapon. "What can I do for you, Officer um..." Thinking back she thought she remembered that she'd seen his name tag before everything had turned into an inescapable nightmare in East Millinocket, while he was still driving her to Julia. "Gagnon."

"Are you really stupid enough to think I'm here as a cop?" he snapped.

"No, not really," she admitted. It didn't seem smart to say that she figured he was there to kill her though.

"It's your fault she's dead," the cop accused.

To her own credit she was able to keep herself from blurting out "Julia?" which probably would have agitated the unstable man. Her next words didn't help, though. "Actually, her own actions got her killed."

"Oh no. I know you set something up at the prison, had her watched, told someone to kill her if she stepped even one toe out of line," Officer Gagnon insisted heatedly.

The instant she noticed him beginning to remove his hand from his pocket was the one that had her throwing herself back into the office and slamming the door behind her.

It might have been nice to allow herself to slump against the locked door but she was glad that she'd resisted the urge when Gagnon began to pound on the door. "I know you're alone! This door won't stop me from giving you what you deserve!" he screamed. The door shimmied with each blow and she knew he wasn't just speaking with bravo; it wouldn't withstand an unlimited amount of abuse.

Turning, her eyes raked the window, but she had to dismiss it as a possible egress when logic reminded her that bars had been installed on the windows after the attack on the station during the summer. Even if she had a clue how to remove them, she didn't have the tools to even try.

A shrill trill from her desk had her nearly jumping out of her skin until she realized that it was just the landline. She almost dismissed it because she had more pressing concerns until she realized that the caller might also be in danger.

Snatching it, she whispered "Hello?"

"Officer Parker?" a nervous voice asked and it took her a moment to realize that it was the part-time dispatcher. She could only hope he was calling from the safety of his own office. "Is everything okay?"

"No."

"Should I come out and provide back-"

"No!" she hissed, hands shaking as she imagined Walt dead on the floor after attempting to engage with the nut outside her office door. "He thinks I'm alone. Don't reveal yourself and become another target. Please."

There was silence on the other end for so long she began to fear that the idiot cop had recruited someone to cut the phone line while Gagnon hammered on the door himself. But then, suddenly, Walt spoke. "What about you?"

"I'll be okay," she promised with a conviction she didn't remotely feel.

Walt swallowed hard enough for her to hear and she braced herself for protesting. Instead Walt said, "I'm going to call the state police for backup."

Audrey had serious doubts that the door would hold out that long, but she knew better than to express them least Walt get caught in the crossfire. "Thanks. And don't come out, no matter what. Promise me."

There was another lengthy silence. "No matter what?"

She sighed. "He's got a gun."

"Oh." Audrey waited for him to think it over. "Hide under your desk, maybe."

"I'll take that under advisement."

As soon as she disconnected, she reached for her purse and began to rummage though it until she came up with her purse. "Trouble. Don't come back. State police on their way," she texted Duke, hoping hard that the last part was true. At least she didn't have to worry about him coming back with coffee and getting shot for his trouble. Although, given that the Driscolls found his particular trouble useful maybe the cop wouldn't shoot him. But on the third hand Julia had told Nathan that she was no longer interested in Duke...

She wiped one hand across her brow, surprised that she was sweating in the winter, and began to try to remember where Nathan, and his father before him, had stashed extra ammo for emergencies like this one. It was something she actually knew, but the panicky pulse of adrenaline was making it hard to think at all, let alone remember something she hadn't thought about since the violence there months earlier.

Suddenly her eyes wandered across a filing cabinet and she nearly ran to it. The box of ammo she'd last seen in Nathan's hand was under a jumble of files and for some reason an odd number of men's gloves. Audrey grabbed the box and crouched on the floor, yanking the clip out of her gun as soon as she did. The pounding on the door kept her as nervy as a long-tailed cat in a rocking chair store as she tried to pluck several bullets out of the box and refill her two-thirds empty clip. Sweat made her fingers slick and slippery, and she dropped as many as she got into the clip. The experience made her wish she'd asked Nathan for prefilled clips instead of a sweater.

Thinking of her brother made her mind leap to how sad it'd be if she died now when it was possible that Nathan could get sick again someday and need an organ donation after all. It also had her thinking of a book that pissed her off, one where a kid fought against donating an organ only to die and leave it to a sick sibling after all. _Maybe I should leave a note giving Nathan first dibs on any body part he'd like, not that they'd be useable very long_...

_Get a grip_, she told herself. She almost did, at least until the first bullet slammed into the door. Squeaking in alarm she dove under her desk like Walt suggested.

* * *

><p>When bullets didn't immediately begin to turn the door into a sieve she quickly realized that Gagnon was concentrating the shots on one spot: the door's lock.<p>

As much as she cursed him for it, she had to admit this was fairly clever of the lunatic. The best she could hope for was that he'd ricochet a bullet off a strong spot in the metal of the door's knob or locking mechanism and shoot himself that way. That was too much of a long shot, so she didn't even bother praying for it.

Crouching under her desk like a kid in one of those videos in the 50s and 60s about what you were supposed to do when Russia bombed us, she found herself wondering if it would have been better or worse if Officer Crazy had decided to find the fire axe and chop though the door instead like a poor Jack Nicholson impersonation. That probably would have been better: she could have aimed at his head when he stuck his head though the door to give Nicholson's line.

Shooting the lock off seemed to be taking more effort than the cop had anticipated. She figured this out with another squeak of alarm when three bullets punctured the door and one took out a window._ Shit, shit, shit_, she though, loosely aiming her gun and trying to decide if she should risk further weakening the door by returning fire and hopefully hitting him. He had to be in line with the door, didn't he? But if the bullet would still have stopping power was something she was far less sure of. Still having the power to shatter glass required a lot less force than fatally wounding someone as far as she knew.

If Gagnon did get into the office, as it was becoming rapidly likely that he would, Audrey realized that remaining behind the desk would put her in a vulnerable position the second he entered the room, so she reluctantly left the shelter the desk provided before it became a place to be trapped. Instead she came around the desk and stood off to the left of the desk, knowing that it'd provide the best location for her to line up a shot if she needed to fire directly at him as he came in.

The choice of whether or not she should return fire quickly spun out of control. Bullets chipped away at the door, and chunks of wood began to fly into the office. A faint memory of some sort of computer game where alien spaceships chipped away at a barrier as you returned fire flashed though her mind, and she almost remembered the name of the short-term friend who had introduced her to the game after school one week. Realizing that wool-gathering would be a fatal mistake, she forced her attention back to the door and took aim when a big enough hole appeared in the door to see a body part.

Unfortunately he must have moved at the right second because she hit nothing. After that bullets flew in and out of the room and the door lost mass rapidly. Audrey became so used to the shooting that she was unprepared when the other cop did something unexpected: he body-slammed the door.

Severely wounded, the door didn't put up a fight as the man crashed into it, and it crumbled in an explosion of wood fragments as he forced his way through it. One large chunk flew far and true, and knocked the gun out of Audrey's hand.

"No!" she yelled, stunned at the bruising pain that forced her to let go of the gun. It skittered across the floor and she dropped to her knees, frantically reaching for it.

Gagnon had shouldered his way through the wreck of the door by then, and just gave her a triumphant look. "Un uh," he said, like she was a toddler reaching for something hot.

"Screw you," she shot back without looking up. Her fingers closed over the gun and still on her knees she brought it up to aim at him. It wouldn't be a perfect shot, not from that position, but it was the only one she'd have, so she had to take it.

Gagnon looked like he knew something she didn't, because he didn't flinch when she aimed at him.

It was only as she pulled the trigger and heard a hollow click that she realized that he was better at math than she was. Clearly he'd counted her shots and knew before she did that she'd emptied her clip.

She looked longingly over at the box of ammo still on the floor by the desk. There was no way she'd be able to even close the distance to it before he shot her, let alone get any bullets into the empty clip.

"Goodbye, Officer Parker. I hope you enjoy your time in hell for what you've done," Officer Gagnon said calmly as he lowered his arm and aimed his gun directly at her head.

* * *

><p>Staring up at Gagnon's steady aim, Audrey felt a fatal wave of resignation. This was it. She had failed to protect the people of Haven, and she was about to die for it. All she could hope for was that Nathan, and hopefully Duke and Dwight, would be able to keep more innocent people from dying, and that no one died in her name.<p>

The other cop's finger began to press down on the trigger of his gun, and sooner than she thought there was a bang that sounded hugely loud without a door to separate her from it. She waited for it to hurt, but it didn't. Instead the cop's eyes widened in surprise, and she only noticed a blood rose blooming on his chest as he pitched forward. There was barely time for her to roll away before he landed where she'd been couching as she waited for death.

Finally looking up, she was both relieved and puzzled to see Duke standing a few yards away. Even noticing the gun he held in his hand didn't make her understand at first, and her first bewildered impulse was to wonder if he'd picked it up from where the unseen gunman had tossed it. Had Walt come out of hiding after all, even though she had begged him not to?

Looking grim, Duke walked over and offered her his free hand, pulling her to her feet. He gave the gun a distasteful look and dropped it. "Self-defense extends to protecting others, doesn't it?"

"Yes, but..." She trailed off when she finally understood. Giving him an incredulous look she just asked "You?"

Duke looked equal parts confused any annoyed. "You don't see anyone else here, do you?"

Her eyes skimmed over the obviously dead cop before she slowly nodded. There was no one else there who was still breathing. Still feeling dazed, she blurted out "But you didn't sneeze."

He sighed and leaned against the wall. "I didn't have any choice but to shoot him. I hope you know that."

"I know," she quickly agreed although she was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that he'd obviously been the one to take the shot. He could aim now? Had her teaching been that good? It hadn't felt very effective at the time... What came next was the important part, she reminded herself with a mental shake. "You should wipe the prints off the gun, Duke. Then I'll get mine on it." When he raised a skeptical eyebrow, she shrugged. The shot had been made to protect her, so she might as well claim it. Besides, people wouldn't believe it had been Duke who'd fired anyway. "I've already gone through one inquiry, how bad could a second be?"

"Two shootings in less than six months?" he asked. "You could lose your badge."

_Let them take it_, she instantly thought, but immediately regretted it. Nathan had been right earlier in the fall when he insisted that they had more power to protect those who needed protecting with the full brunt of the law behind them rather than against them. She'd been one of the girls who'd developed a crush on Casey Jones when the live action film based on popular action figures had come out when she was in grade school, but the thought of being a vigilante was a lot less romantic as an adult than it had been when she'd still been a girl with a head full of improbable dreams.

* * *

><p>The shooting at the station took hours to sort out, even though there had been only moments of action. Duke had always found it amazing how much time could be invested in investigating a crime scene. Statements had to be given and documented, the body examined, photographed, and taken away. At first he was fine with it, sitting quietly on his favorite chair in the station's "bull-pen" if such a small area could qualify for the name. He could put up with the fuss so long as he knew Audrey was safe and sound.<p>

He'd been worried about her, and how shocky she seemed. Fortunately the paramedics had looked at her when they arrived and concluded she was fine. Audrey herself had perked up as the routine procedure, even with herself at the center of it, had grounded her. He was content to wait until he could bring her home to his boat where he could take her far out to sea and away from the lunatics in town. Or rather he had been until he had stopped by the men's room and saw the stark white sheet covering the body.

He knew it wasn't Evi, but it didn't stop him from remembering her. Suddenly he saw a different end to the encounter, one where he was a split second too late, or where Audrey's would-be assassin jerked his finger as he died. He suddenly couldn't wait in the office quietly anymore. After returning to the men's room to purge his stomach of everything he had eaten since he was six, he found Stan.

"Listen, do you actually still need me here?" the smuggler asked the patrolman who had been recalled to the station.

Stan looked at Duke, and shook his head. "No, I've got your statement here. If we have any questions, we'll contact you."

Duke took it as permission to leave, and although part of him felt guilty for leaving Audrey to the lions, he knew that she would likely have tamed them and have them eating kitty treats out of the palm of her hand in moments. Besides which, the folks that had descended on the station were mostly her friends and allies. She wouldn't be in any more danger unless they took out half the remaining staff in the station.

Once outside of the station he began to feel a bit calmer, and the further he got from the place, the better he felt. On that theory, he got up into his ancient land-rover and drove away from the station. He headed down the coast, trusting to the muscle memory of his hands and feet to guide the vehicle while trying to banish the images of Evi's death and Audrey's near death from his mind.

Eventually he pulled the car off in what was more of a dirt clearing than an actual parking lot, barely inside Haven town limits. The dark haired man wondered if anyone had called Nathan and told him about what had happened; the detective likely hadn't heard it over the radio because he hadn't shown up at the station. Pulling the phone from his pants pocket, he stared at it. To call or not to call, that is the question. Whether it was nobler to suffer the slings and arrows of a pissed off officer or let him rest in peace.

He called. Nathan would be more angry if he hadn't, and it wasn't like Audrey had had the time.

"Crocker, I swear if this is another subscription offer for Gymnasts Quarterly, I'll hurt you," came the irritated voice on the other end of the connection.

"Nathan, you should go over to the station. Audrey… Someone tried to kill Audrey," Duke interrupted the sputtered sounds voiced miles away. "She's Ok, she's not hurt. The guy that did it was one of Julia's goons. He's dead."

"I'll be right over." Duke heard the click of the connection being cut.

Shaking his head, the man turned and entered the forest and began climbing up the rocky trail leading to the overlook, trusting the physical exertion to blank out his mind, which was helpfully supplying Audrey's image over Evi's body on a gurney covered with a white sheet bleeding through red.

Duke had prided himself on never having lied to Audrey about anything serious. She knew he lied as easily as he breathed. He honestly thought that she enjoyed teasing the truth from the fictions he weaved. It was part of who he was, and what he was. The only time it seemed to become a serious issue was when Duke had sided with the Rev's men as a ruse during the Wendigo hunt. Even then, she had been initially inclined to think that he'd lost his mind out of grief then actually turned on her. Though she hadn't agreed with his actions, she understood his reasoning.

She thought she knew him.

After today's mishaps though, she was about to find out otherwise. She no doubt was going to hate him when she demanded the truth from him. It was likely to cost him the woman he loved, and yet, when he considered it, it was worth it, he mused as he used a sapling to pull himself up a steep section of trail. Audrey was worth sacrificing everything, even himself.

Crunching through the dead and dying bracken, ducking under the limbs of the evergreens Duke achieved his goal. The place where everything started, and maybe ended. The sound of the sea crashing below him and the soft cry of the gulls were carried to the man as he stood on the cliffs. Duke sat down and watched the sea, leaning against an old, salt-stunted pine tree. Even as he considered all the things that he needed to do, and all the trouble this was going to cause, he never regretted taking the actions he had. Audrey was safe, and in the great scheme of things, that was all that was important to him.

Duke Crocker watched as the night crept towards the land from the sea, trying to imprint this place on his mind so that he could recall it at will. The taste of the sea air, the feel of the nearly frozen ground, the sounds that he had grown up around. The sensory experience at last drove away the images that had plagued him.

Behind him came the crunching sound of steps on dried leaves. "Nathan, I don't understand why he would come up to Tuwiuwok Bluff. He really doesn't like heights."

"He doesn't like them, but that never stopped him from coming up here to watch for his father to come home from the sea. And it wasn't like he was at his boat, or the Gull, or your apartment, or any other of his normal haunts."

"You don't think he jumped, do you? I mean..."

"No. If I thought he'd jumped I would have started looking at the base of the cliff, not the trail up it. And there he is." There was an irritated rustle as a cloth covered arm was moved violently.

Duke didn't move, didn't turn around and acknowledge them. It stopped neither of them from acknowledging him though.

"Duke, you'd make me feel better if you would get away from the edge. Bird man of Haven doesn't suit you," Audrey requested.

Nathan was more direct. "Get your ass over here."

With a sigh the slightly younger man rose. In his hand was a small, black stone, the perfect size and shape for skipping rocks, which he slipped into his pocket. "Nathan. Audrey." He nodded to the two officers warily.

"Why don't you come home, Duke." Audrey met his gaze with level eyes, but concern was written on her face.

Nathan was edging around the taller man, presumably to prevent him from making a last ditch run over the cliffs in some misbegotten suicide bid. Duke could have told them it wasn't needed. He wasn't about to jump.

"Nathan... " he began.

"Do you have any idea in that selfish head of yours how worried you had us?" Nathan growled.

Duke turned to look over his shoulder in surprise at the detective. "Uh, no?"

"Nathan," Audrey tried to intervene, not wanting one of the infamous brawls she had heard about the two men getting into to break out up here, where at least one man had already met his death.

"No Audrey. He needs to know. He has to understand that you were worried he'd do something stupid." Nathan gave a light shove to Duke's shoulders to try to force him to move towards Audrey and away from the cliff face.

"Audrey, you don't understand," Duke tried again.

"I understand that being involved in a fatal shooting is never a good thing, even if the shooting is justified, Duke. We," Audrey motioned to herself and to Nathan "are trained on the psychological response and we still have to go and see a psychiatrist if it happens."

"Yes, I know what happened," Nathan rumbled from behind him. "Audrey said you shot him, although the evidence will say otherwise, and Audrey will be seeing someone about the shooting rather than you."

Duke stopped, and when Nathan tried to encourage him with another shove dug in his heels.

"You know the truth."

Audrey walked up to Duke and kissed him lightly, running a hand lightly down his face. Nathan, practically in his back pocket, prevented him from retreating. "I won't lie, Duke. I have a bunch of questions, and I know Nathan does too. However he's not supposed to be exerting himself, and it's been a rather trying day for the two of us. Why don't we all agree to go back to town, get Nathan settled back in his home, and then talk about it."

"Sounds like a plan, Audrey." Nathan unexpectedly agreed from the vicinity of Duke's shoulder.

Audrey took Duke's hand in her own and led him down the path she had once climbed with Nathan, where she found the gun that had brought Duke into her life. Behind both of them Nathan followed. The man then herded the couple to Audrey's sedan and commandeered Duke's truck.

As the two officer's drove through Haven to Nathan's house, he found the silence comforting. He thought it odd that Audrey kept looking over to him with concerned glances. It was not the reaction he would have anticipated. The gray car was brought safely to rest in Nathan's driveway, and was hemmed in by the big land rover. Together, Duke and Audrey exited the car, and once again Nathan acted as rear guard.

The three tired orphans walked into Nathan's kitchen. Duke stood, hesitant in the house of his rival, until Nathan ordered him to sit with a glance. Audrey sat opposite to him, across the table and Nathan took a spot at the end after setting a coffee pot to brew. "Talk" the head of the household ordered.

"About what?" Duke inquired.

Nathan glared. Audrey took one of Duke's hands into her own, gently chafing it. "Are you OK?" she asked.

"Are you?" he countered.

Audrey grinned. "I asked you first."

"I asked you second."

"Ladies' first."

"Exactly why you should answer my question."

"Enough!" Nathan slammed a hand down on the table for emphasis. Duke wondered where Jess was, for surely that should have brought her running. Nathan must have seen the question in his eyes, and answered "Jess is visiting with a friend. Duke, answer Audrey."

"What are you, her heavy?"

"No, I'm her big brother. And you are pissing me off."

"I'm fine, Audrey. Really." Duke decided to ignore the reject from Deliverance sitting next to him.

"I'm OK, too. Now, if I ask you questions, will you tell me the truth?" Audrey never stopped the motion of her thumb against his hand.

"Why?' he asked, wary.

The chair Nathan sat in creaked as he sat back. "Because we need to know the truth. Duke, what you tell us here and now, it's important. We need to know so that we can protect you from what may come."

"What do you mean?" Duke made a motion to reclaim his hand, but Audrey wouldn't let him.

She gripped his hand more firmly. "Because Julia's goon tried to kill me, and I'm more afraid that someone will decide that you were involved and try to hurt you. I love you too much to see that happen, and Nathan and I need to make sure you are safe. I was afraid that even if you hadn't done something stupid, someone else had when I couldn't find you in the station." Audrey squeezed the hand she held. "Anything you say in this kitchen, any crimes that you may have committed, while you talk to us here, tonight, will be off the record."

Nathan nodded, "Consider it immunity."

Duke spent a moment, gauging the two officers before him. However both of them had abandoned the moral high ground for the night. Before him were two of Haven's finest, but tonight, rather than their jobs, they were trying to be his friends. "You really don't want to know."

"Yes, we do," Audrey answered.

He stared down at the hand that refused to relinquish it's grip. He made what was likely the hardest, and yet the easiest decision in his life. "Audrey, do you remember the note in my dad's journal? The one about being his son and heir?"

Cautiously the woman nodded.

"Did you ever wonder why? Why I was that son?" Duke continued to stare at the hand. It was easier than meeting her eyes.

"I figured that you were the son he had most contact with."

Duke shook his head. "I have two older brothers, remember? That's why I wasn't taken by the 10th plague. One a full one and one a half one born on the wrong side of the sheets. Kyle, my full brother, is older than me by six years." He glanced at Audrey. "And before you ask, by the time Nate and I met, my maternal grandfather had already paid to send him to military school, so that's why Nathan doesn't know him. Earl, my half brother, he's older than me by eight years. I was the youngest, at least, the youngest one that Dad knew about. He had more time with them than he did with me. Much more time.

"Dad used to have us compete. Every year we'd spend two weeks camping in Vermont. I used to think it was just a normal family trip. We'd go play things like hide and seek, and hunting was a big thing. Dad made us hunt deer. I made my first kill when I was five. He praised me for shooting it cleanly, and all I could figure out was that it was alive and I had made it dead." The tired man shook his head.

"My brothers were faster and stronger, but I was smarter, and I'm not being arrogant here. Dad would set up an obstacle course for us to run through. You always hear about those stories where the people dismantle the course rather than run it? That was me. I rigged the games he'd set up so that I would win."

"The year before he disappeared at sea, I remember him being drunk and telling me how proud he was of me. That I'd learned the lessons the best of all his sons. I knew when to follow the rules, but when to break them at just the right time. Kyle was bigger, still is. Earl was meaner, but I was the one that blended in the best. The wolf in sheep's clothing. The only thing he wished is that I had more of a killer instinct.

"I thought he meant it for hunting animals. I never knew, never thought until after he came back, that he wanted me to hunt people." Duke hung his head.

"You told the Chief you didn't hunt." Nathan's voice was even, with no trace of any emotion.

Duke looked up, trying to judge what Nathan was expecting. "I hadn't, not since Dad disappeared. Call it stupid, but I was so angry at him for leaving, that I didn't want him to be proud of me. So I tried to throw away his lessons. He had been proud of how well I could shoot, so I decided to hit anything else but the target. He encouraged me to move quietly through the woods, so I stomped on as many twigs as I could find. After a while it became habit."

In the background the coffee pot belched fresh coffee smell and gave a death gurgle. Audrey got up and turned it off, then fussed in Nathan's cabinets pulling out three coffee mugs. She carefully poured out servings and applied extra ingredients to the tastes she'd come to know so well. There were soft thunks as she set the mugs before Nathan and Duke, and the chair scraped on the linoleum as she pulled it out to re-seat herself. "You didn't become a bad shot, though Duke."

"No, no I didn't. I will say this for dear old Dad. His lessons have been quite useful in the import/export business. I've defended myself before and I will do it again, if I have to." Duke sighed, figuring now as a good a time as any to admit to it. "That guy wasn't the first I've drawn on intending to kill. He wasn't even the first one that I've put down."

Nathan quirked an eyebrow. "You've killed before?"

"No, Nathan, I insulted his mother. Let's just say that pirates are not the nice people you see in the movies, and if you get caught out on the high seas by a real pirate crew, it quickly becomes defend your life or your boat is found 'salvaged.' Hell, even when we were kidnapped on my boat, I pulled out my shotgun and was willing to blast the face off the guy that stole my boat."

Nathan still had that air of unshakable calm or at least the air of someone drugged into being calm. "You never told me."

"Would you have let me live in town if you knew I'd killed before and was willing to do it again?"

Nathan consulted the oracle of coffee. "If I knew you did it in self-defense, maybe. But I can't have another Max Hanson running around."

"Nathan, I came looking for the Troubles, not trouble in general. I try not to start anything, but damn it, I'm going to finish it if I have to. It's easier to be the affable rogue who will only steal you blind if he gets the chance and still get around town than it is to be someone who is a known threat to life and limb AND property."

Audrey nodded, and the motion caught Duke's eye. "Duke, in the almost two years I've known you, I've never see you once go looking for trouble before you started hunting the box. The only times I've seen you be willing to resort to deadly force was to defend yourself or someone else. I don't see you as being a closet serial killer. Everyone has a past, and I know for a lot of people around here it's a past they aren't proud of. I'm not saying I'm happy about you lying to us about this, but it is reassuring to know that you can and will defend yourself and us." She paused, took a sip of her coffee. "And maybe Nathan won't go bald or white haired whenever you get involved with something dangerous because you tried to help us."

Nathan just snorted. "I'll make you a deal. Don't go all Dexter on us and we'll keep your secret. I mean, what's one more around here?"

"Really?" Duke asked.

"Really." Nathan held out his hand, and Duke shook on it. "Now get out of my house so I can go to bed." Nathan tossed Duke's keys to the man and within half an hour he and Audrey were back at the docks, secure in the Cape Rouge, being rocked to sleep on the tide.

* * *

><p>December 31st<br>Afternoon

There was a bite in the air as Audrey opened her door to let Nathan in. Given the temperature, he only smiled gratefully when she immediately handed him a cup of cocoa. "Cupcake flavored?" he asked dryly, sniffing the cup. Deeper in the room the TV pleaded for people to donate money to the local food bank.

"No, mint," Audrey told him. "They don't make cupcake flavored cocoa, or I'm sure Duke would have found it by now."

There were definite perks to sleeping with an importer, even Nathan had to admit that. Her apartment was slowly filling with objects you couldn't find even in Portland. He glanced around, realizing that they were alone for the first time. "Where is he anyway?"

"Downstairs, rallying the troops before he leaves for the evening."

"I'm surprised he's leaving someone else in charge," Nathan commented.

"Are you saying he's a control freak?" Audrey asked, he just gave her a look. "He's giving a potential assistant manager a shot, figuring if he can handle New Years Eve, he'll be able to handle any night."

"Trial by fire."

"Pretty much," she agreed. "How's your dad?"

He practically had to bite his tongue not to blurt out that the Chief seemed to have been enjoying the hell out of the Sims 3 game that he'd given him for Christmas on the sly; he'd even told Nathan about a few expansion packs for the game that had come out while he was...disposed, and seemed to have been hinting they'd make a good birthday present. "Pretty good. He and Dave have a quail hunt planned."

Audrey shuddered. "At least it's not something, um, bigger."

Giving her a quizzical look, he wondered if she was thinking about the stuffed moose that had attacked them once, the bear that nearly et Dave, or the deer that had assaulted her car. He supposed it didn't really matter. And he soon stopped thinking about it at all because a news reporter was gravely explaining that the FBI had busted a domestic terrorist cell in the north after a cop associated with the cell had been killed while attacking the police station in Haven.

Audrey's focus had wandered to the TV too. "Eighteen arrests. Maybe it's really finally over."

As much as it pained him to, Nathan had to correct her. "The troubles are still here, and as long as they are, we can't think of it as being over."

She just shrugged. "Troubles we can handle. It's having people making things worse deliberately that is hard. I just meant hopefully that part of things is done with."

"Hopefully," he allowed. Something on a shelf near the TV caught his eye, so he picked it up. Made of wood, it reminded him of an old-fashioned spy glass, but when he held it to his eye he realized that it was a kaleidoscope. Tapping it gently, he asked, "What's this for?"

He thought he heard her mutter something like "Christmas Eve was pirate-themed" but when her cheeks turned cherry red he decided that he really didn't need to know, and for half a second wondered if should go wash his hands before he decided that not even Duke was twisted enough to defile a glorified children's toy. He forced himself to believe that they'd merely acted out scenes from The Pirates of Penzance or Caribbean.

"So, um," Audrey said, desperately trying to change the subject. "What are you and Jess doing? I've been wondering that since you said you couldn't join us tonight."

"We're driving up to Quebec."

"Meeting her parents?" she asked in a tone that suggested she thought it was unlikely.

"Actually yes," he admitted. "The whole family, really."

"That sounds pretty serious," she said, giving him a probing look.

"Yeah, pretty serious. We already have in sickness and in health nailed, so maybe..."

She gave him a strange smile, and with a start he realized that the same thing could be said of her and Duke. Even he had to grudgingly respect the fact that the rouge had never wavered in his loyalty to her, even when she couldn't reciprocate his feelings. _God help me if he really does become my brother-in-law someday_, he thought forcing down the instinct to groan.

"Good luck up there."

"You think I need it?"

"You don't have the greatest track records with impressing Dads," Audrey teased.

"God, can you imagine the type of man who would have made a good impression on the Rev?" As soon as the words were out of his mouth he regretted them a little because she flinched, and he was sure she was thinking of at least one of the Rev's equally late followers. Trying to take her mind off that, he said, "I'm sure I'll be able to gauge how much they like me by how often they stop speaking English and chat to each other in French."

"Does Jess have any sisters? Girl cousins?"

"She's not the only girl in her immediate family and has female cousins she's close to," he replied, wondering what she was getting at.

"If they stop speaking English and keep glancing at you, it'll probably be because they think you're cute."

He felt a little bad for making her blush earlier because his own face began to heat up. "Audrey."

"What?" she asked, unrepentant. "Say what you want about Max, but he made attractive children."

"That's not at all conceited," Nathan said dryly.

"Shoe, fits, whatever."

"Brat."

"No, that's you."

He was still trying to think of a clever retort when a car horn honked outside, making them both jump. "Jess?" she asked.

Nathan went to the window to look out, and Jess waved impatiently when he did. "Yup."

"Oh, she's getting demanding now." Audrey joined him and waved before giving him a tight hug. "Promise to drive carefully."

"Of course," he promised, kissing her on the cheek. "And tell Duke I said to behave tonight."

"How much trouble do you think we can get into at a First Night event?"

"Um, Duke? A lot. I still don't understand how they can call it an annual event when it's the first time Haven is having First Night," Nathan complained. She didn't really respond because it was an old argument and she was pleased that they were finally doing the same sort of thing as in Portsmouth, Boston, and Portland. "First annual my-"

"Nathan."

"Anyway, tell him to behave."

"I will, but I think I can keep him in line."

Nodding, Nathan reached over and picked up a notepad and pen, then scribbled down a number before handing it to her. "The landline at Jess's parents' house, in case you need to call for bail money. I'm not sure how good cell phone coverage will be on the road."

She rolled her eyes and smiled, saying "jerk" under her breath.

"Bye, sis," Nathan said, trying it out. It didn't feel as strange as he feared.

"Bye, big brother."

* * *

><p>The engine was already running by the time Nathan slide into the passenger seat of Jess's car. "All set."<p>

"Good talk?" Jess asked as he put on his seatbelt.

"Yeah." It had been a pretty good talk.

Jess gave him a curious look. "You don't seem very nervous about meeting my parents."

"Should I be?" he asked mildly.

"No, I don't think so."

"Good."

As Jess shifted into drive, he looked up at Audrey's window and noticed her waving goodbye. He waved back as they drove down the street, thinking that while it was good to be getting out of Haven for a while, not everything that had happened over the past few months was terrible. No, he thought, glancing back at the Gull where he thought he could now make out Duke scaling the stairs to Audrey apartment and then over at Jess as she watched for traffic, some things had turned out pretty well after all.

"Nathan?" Jess asked.

"Hmm?" he asked, his hand hanging in mid-air.

"Don't even think about screwing with my radio."

"I wouldn't!" he protested, putting his hand down quickly, even though he'd been thinking about changing the station. Growing up he and Duke had driven The Chief insane by screwing with the radio every time he left the two of them alone in his vehicle. Some habits were hard to break.

"If you do, we're listening to Celine Dion the whole way home."

"Not my favorite Canadian export." He checked to see if that made her smirk and it did. "And if I'm good, what will my reward be instead?" he asked suggestively.

"Oh, I'm sure I'll think of something," Jess replied. A smile was tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"Jess," Nathan asked, adopting a serious tone. "Have I ever told you how much I admire your creativity and innovative thinking? And free spirit, can't forget that."

"I just bet."

The two of them both had dissolved into laughter by the time they hit the highway.

* * *

><p>January First<p>

From her apartment balcony, Audrey could hear the horns of the ships at sea celebrating the ending of the first day of the new year. Dusk was settling on the land, and the first glints of stars were overhead. The sun had not given up though, and it was still light enough to see the shadow the Grey Gull cast into the small harbor. Audrey felt Duke's arms entwine around her waist and leaned back into the man, relishing the warmth of him. She felt him rest his chin on her head, and sighed, content to be in his embrace.

Below them, on a strip of sand that lead abruptly to the ocean they watched as a small child played, chasing the waves, careful not to get caught in them. Andy Kale, returned to Haven to visit his grandparents for Christmas, darted back and forth, yelling with delight each time the icy spray touched his face. Behind him, well away from the frigid water, Tammy laughed at his antics. She shouted something at the little boy, but it was lost through the distance and the muted roar of the restaurant below them.

Behind Tammy came Sam Haversham, the boy that did not exist. He was technically on his break from being a busboy in the restaurant, Duke having taken in another "stray." In the classically awkward teenage boy move, he yawned and placed his arm around the teenage girl. Audrey smiled as she saw the young woman lean into the embrace, and then daringly, stole a kiss on her paramour's cheek. The blonde woman wished she could see the look in the young man's eyes, as he suddenly jumped.

Andy having seen the encounter, came up and likely must have been making kissy faces at the pair because they both jumped up and chased the boy down the beach. When Sam's long legs brought him within striking distance, he tackled the boy, and began an unmerciful tickle assault, which backfired spectacularly when Tammy, instead of aiding and abetting her boyfriend, launched her own attack against him.

Behind her she felt Duke chuckle, almost more than she could hear them. "They look happy. Innocent," he said softly.

"I can hardly remember being that young any more," Audrey confessed. She wondered if anyone had told Sam that he was just a figment of Andy's imagination running wild. She remembered back to the conversations about if the boy would be happier not knowing or not. After all she had been through, she still didn't have an answer for herself or for him. On the one hand, if she didn't know everything, she'd still have a lighter heart, and she wouldn't have a fear of eventually going mad. On the other hand, she would be out both a brother and a lover.

Duke gently spun her around and kissed the top of her head. "Surely that was just last week!"

Gently she punched her man in the arm. "I'm not that old, Duke! I don't need that level of egregious flirting yet."

He smiled, and then his eyes drifted over her head to watch the children playing on the strand. "Maybe this time we'll end the trouble for once and for all, and those kids will get to live normal lives, without all the secrets."

She looked back over her shoulder, and saw that Tammy and Sam were now holding Andy's hands, and swinging him up and about every other step.

"Maybe, " she agreed noncommittally. "I have to say, troubled or not, they do seem to look happy together."

"Yeah, almost as happy as us," he said, with mischievous grin. Both of them jumped as the first volley of fireworks were set off on a small boat around the other side of the tiny bay. The fact that there had been a big show at First Night wouldn't stop independent enthusiasts from firing their own off for as long as they could get away with it over the first couple days of the new year. In the air, bright green and blue flowers bloomed, then faded into nothingness. Below, on the strand, the three kids were clapping and Andy was jumping up and down in excitement.

"Aren't you going to fetch back your busboy?"

"Nope, if the new assistant manager can't keep tabs on one kid, then they aren't the right person for the job. Besides, never let it be said that I got in the way of true love's course." That said, Duke picked her up and carried her over the threshold of the balcony door.

He gently set her down on the couch, and returned with a cup of something that appeared to be mostly marshmallows. She took the drink, surprised at how cold she felt from her brief foray out on the balcony, and how pleasant the chocolate tasted. Duke leaned against her, and when Audrey tried to shove him off, he told her with all due mock seriousness. "Audrey, body heat is the best way to warm up someone who is freezing, and it's cold outside. I'm might be going hypothermic here." Somehow the both ended up on the sofa, nearly lying on it with him underneath, holding her.

She leaned back against him, snorting in laughter, enjoying the sparkle in his eyes that promised much more body heat later. "Do you think they'll get a happily ever after?"

Duke stilled, then brought one arm around her, holding her tightly as he reclined against the armrest of the battered sofa. "I think, at the end of the day, we make our own happy endings. It's been rough, Audrey. The last few months have been hell, for all of us. But I think that in the end, it's been worth it. I think so long as you are here, with me, it will always be worth it." He brushed a strand of hair from her face. "I love you."

Audrey tasted the alcohol and coffee that was on his mouth as she leaned down to kiss him. "I love you too," she whispered. She smiled wickedly at him, then kissed him again. "Duke, I have to tell you something."

"What?" He arched his back up, following her mouth, and very obviously not really paying attention to much other than his hopes of getting a little new year's cheer.

She pushed up against his shoulders, thinking of Jess and Nathan. "I'm Tin Roof Rusted." It took all she had to keep a straight face as first the nonsense of the words penetrated his brain, and he sought meaning and came to a startling conclusion.

"No, you can't be, I mean, you can, but you can't..." he started babbling. "Oh no, when you were kidnapped, your birth control pills... but in Boston didn't you say you'd gotten..." Audrey enjoyed the look of shock and awe on his face. She cut off his babbling with another kiss, longer and deeper than the ones before. When they both came up for air he had better control of his words. "Are you really?" he managed to get out.

Audrey just smiled enigmatically, sat up, and took another long drink of hot cocoa. He'd figure it out eventually. After all, half the fun in Haven was the mystery.

The End

* * *

><p>Author's End Notes: Well, we've tried very hard to wrap up all the loose ends, but we know you're left with one burning question. Unfortunately, we need to leave the question of why Duke is afraid of bananas to further development on the show.<p>

Ow, stop hitting me! We didn't decide either way the answer to your other question, okay? Maybe she is, maybe she isn't. She's Schrödinger's woman. At this point we have no idea if this story will ever write a sequel, and we won't know until after season 3 airs, when we will have to decide if we'd go completely AU or incorporate some season 3 stuff (but no icky Audrey/Nathan stuff obviously, that's more the milieu of people inclined to write Winscest fics around these parts) into a sequel. Or, it could be that the season ticks us off so much we never write another Haven fic. Time will tell.

In the meantime, we're each working on a fic that comes before our second Haven/X-Files crossover to come in a different series, well, two series actually. These fics are AU after season one, and unless Farex hasn't told me something about her sequel, not Audrey/Duke RST_or_ Audrey/Nathan RST, just UST on both fronts. Mulder and Scully, on the other hand, are married with two little boys (and a third addition to their family later in the series.)

If you'd like to join us you probably have catch up to do, so the earlier stories are all on ffnet and go like this:

Farex's Haven fics:  
>The Orange Kitten<br>Christmas in (Haven) Maine - crossover #1  
>Rearview Mirror<br>then the upcoming crossover

My X-Files fics:  
>Staged Duplicity<br>Recovering Gemini  
>Christmas in (Haven) Maine- crossover #1<br>A Sleepy Little Town: Memory House  
>A Sleepy Little Town: Free Fall<p>

then the upcoming crossover

Mulder, Scully, Audrey, Duke and Nathan are only all together in the first crossover so far, but rest assured the former feds and 2 out of 3 of Haven's favorite trio are in touch, so they get the occasional mention in stories after CiHM. And you know, the more we have people riding us, I mean encouraging us, to finish Free Fall and Rearview Mirror, the sooner we'll get to the second crossover...

Now, who's excited about the season premiere in a few days? We are, even if it is unlikely to follow what we'd prefer relationship-wise. But you never know... We at least will be keeping track of how close/far we come to what's in season 3 with our predictions. Hey, maybe Audrey-As-Lucy really _did_ kill Nathan's mom given someone died, that'd sink a fledgling relationship for sure. No, no, mustn't think evil thoughts. Nah, I'm still going to.

Hope you enjoyed the journey, folks, I know we did!


	52. Teaser for Untangling sequel Mortal Coil

Authors' Note:

You know how TV shows often offer previews of the next episode at the end of the current one? Consider yourself teaser'd by what follows =) Subscribe to me as an author if you want to know when I begin posting the sequel to Untangling the Webs.

I know you're wondering is she is or is she isn't...admit it!

* * *

><p><strong>Coming soon!<strong>

Title: The Mortal Coil  
>Authors: Faerax and Neoxphile<p>

Summary: In the months since "Untangling the Webs" life in Haven has settled back down into what passes as normalcy. But both personal drama and signs of a serial killer in town are about to change that...

XxX

Thursday

A moderate breeze coming off the ocean made it feel a little less sweltering than most days earlier in the week had. People in northern New England might complain bitterly about the cold all seven months of winter, but if you string enough days in the 90s together they complained about the high humidity and heat too. It made locals wonder what people in other parts of the country were like if people who complained constantly about the weather were considered _stoic_ by folks from away.

At that moment Duke stood outside his establishment, enjoying the breeze and relishing that for a moment he was alone with his thoughts so no one was asking him if it with hot enough for him or if he'd seen the giant mosquito that had carried away their dog. Thinking of that, he wondered if the old groaner had given that King guy in Bangor the idea for that story about things coming out of a mist...having suddenly spooked himself, he glanced around, more than a little relieved that the day was still clear.

Chiding himself, he tuned back to the task at hand: trying very hard not to use the chalk in his left hand to draw a too revealing picture to go with the words "closed from 5 to 6:30 PM." He decided against doing anything that would get him screamed at just as a throat being cleared behind him got his attention.

He turned, hoping it was Audrey home from work early, but discovered an elderly woman staring at him instead. Trying not to let his disappointment show, he politely asked, "can I help you?"

The woman frowned at him and pointed at the chalkboard. "You really closed until six-thirty?"

_Nope, thought I was getting entirely too much business lately, so I decided to see if I could drive off some customers with misdirection_, Duke thought sarcastically. Forcing himself to smile instead, Duke apologized, "Sorry, I've agreed to let someone take over the place for a function."

This did not mollify his elder. "But I've been craving your tacos all day! How am I supposed to stay awake until seven-thirty or so?"

_Lord, let me never get so decrepit that seven-thirty is a late night_, Duke thought but didn't actually pray. "A nap?" he suggested aloud.

The woman sighed. "I hope this function is something important."

Duke grinned at her, which left her looking slightly confused. "Ma'am, I daresay this function will change a man's life."

This apparently interested her. "Not yours, I take it."

He thought this over. "No. Any effects on me would merely be tangential." Audrey might feel more connected to the results, but Duke didn't. Not really.

"Well," the woman said, finally softening. "Tell him good luck for me. I'm Lois, by the way."

Looking at her, Duke wondered if she somehow guessed why Duke had agreed to shut down for the earliest part of the evening. With the amount of troubled people in town, he couldn't dismiss the idea out of hand. "Will do."

"I'll be back after a nap," she said over her shoulder as she began to toddle off.

"See ya, Lois," he called after her, making a mental note to bring her a complimentary dessert if she returned before he left.

Duke was semi-proud of himself because of how well he'd handled the situation with the elderly woman. For the first few months after he'd learned about the curse that was attached to his bloodline, he'd been anxious every time he'd seen an elderly person, worried that they'd tried to get him to kill them and end their family's trouble. This had only intensified when Audrey had teased him just before Thanksgiving because until then he'd been able to convince himself that no one else had given the possibility any thought. If she had, maybe the old folks had too.

When the woman was out of sight, he finished his message, pocketed the chalk, and went inside to see how the prep was going. The evening might not be a life-changer for him, but he'd never hear the end of it if things didn't go smoothly...

* * *

><p><em>Are we excited yet? ::g:: The actual fic will be posted in it's own thread, so look out for The Mortal Coil, coming to a computer screen near you soon.<em>


End file.
